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AUTHOR: 


MUNSTERBERG, 
MARGARETE 


TITLE: 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG, 
HIS  LIFE  AND  WORK 


PLACE: 


NEW  YORK 


DA  TE : 


1922 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
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Miinsterberg,  Margarete  Anna  Adelheid  ifmo-l  Q^? 
Cop7  in  Psychology. 


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HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 
HIS  LIFE  AND  WORK 


' 


HUGO  MtJNSTERBERG 
HIS   LIFE  AND   WORK 

BY 
MARGARET  MUNSTERBERG 


1 


€l'7^jr    /^-A 


'.^4-^*^ 


^^. 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  :  LONDON  :  MCMXXII 


OOPTRIGHT.  1922,  BT 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


1^ 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

The  author  wishes  to  express  her  thanks  to  Professor 
George  Herbert  Palmer  for  his  inspiration,  encourage- 
ment and  suggestions,  to  Professor  Mary  Whiton  Calkins 
and  to  Professor  George  Foot  Moore  for  their  generous 
and  invaluable  aid  in  revising  manuscript  and  proofs,  and 
to  Miss  ZORA  P.  WiLKiNS  for  her  devoted  work  in  collect- 
ing and  preparing  the  material  for  this  book. 


W> 


PBIKTID  IK  THX  VNITBD  gTATIS  OV  AlCKUOA 


FOREWORD 

This  volume  is  the  record  of  a  scholar's  life  cut  off  in 
the  midst  of  its  years,  but  abundant  in  accomplishment 
beyond  most  of  those  who  have  completed  their  full  tale. 
Coming  in  his  thirtieth  year  to  a  new  country  and  a  strange 
language  to  develop  research  in  experimental  psychology 
which  William  James  had  initiated  at  Harvard,  Munster- 
berg  rapidly  acquired  a  fluent  English  in  speech  and  writ- 
ing, and,  besides  doing  his  own  work  in  the  laboratory  and 
directing  the  investigations  of  advanced  students,  was  soon 
teaching  large  classes  of  undergraduates  in  Harvard  and 
Radcliffe.     He    frequently    urged    the    establishment    in 
American  universities  of  research  professorships  whose  in- 
cumbents should  be  released  from  the  burden  of  teaching 
and  be  free  to  devote  themselves  wholly  to  science;  but, 
whatever  he  may  have  imagined  of  the  comforts  of  an  easy 
chair,  he  was  the  last  man  who  would  have  been  happy  in 
such  seclusion.     There  are  scholars  to  whom  learning  is  like 
the  Stoic  '*  virtue,"  the  self -rewarding  highest  good,  and 
who  feel  no  impulse  to  share  their  good  with  the  world ; 
there  are  others  who  devote  themselves  to  their  science  and 
seek  no  audience  beyond  the  few  but  fit  among  their  fellow 
investigators.    Munsterberg  did  not  belong  to  either  class. 
To  give  out  was  as  necessary  to  him  as  to  take  in;  to 
popularize  science,  as  to  promote  it.    Nor  did  this  urgent 
impulse  find  scope  enough  in  academic  instruction ;  it  over- 
flowed to  the  uncoUegiate  public  in  numerous  volumes,  and 
in  a  steady  stream  of  articles  in  popular  periodicals,  most 
of  which  were  subsequently  collected  in  volumes.    In  this 
way  he  illustrated  another  ideal  which  he  often  held  up  to 

•  • 

Vll 


VUl 


FOREWORD 


us — productive  scholarship.  Of  his  own  astounding  pro- 
ductivity and  of  the  wide  variety  of  subjects  over  which  it 
ranged,  this  biography  first  gives  an  adequate  notion.  He 
came  to  be  in  great  demand  also  for  public  lectures  and 
addresses  on  all  manner  of  occasions  and  often  in  remote 
places,  and  responded  to  such  invitations  with  an  alacrity 
that  must  have  taxed  his  strength  as  well  as  absorbed  his 
time.  He  loved  to  get  out  of  the  academic  environment 
and  into  the  stir  of  life,  to  mingle  with  men  of  many  minds, 
to  have  the  ear  of  the  public. 

One  task  which  he  felt  to  be  set  for  him  by  his  inter- 
national position  was  to  dispel  the  mutual  prejudices  of 
Germans  and  Americans  and  cultivate  better  understanding 
by  a  more  faithful  portrayal  of  their  respective  character- 
istics. As  might  have  been  anticipated,  neither  people  was 
altogether  satisfied  with  the  likeness,  especially  when  it 
was  held  up  to  them  as  a  mirror  for  their  improvement. 
Americans,  who  had  been  painted  by  so  many  impression- 
ists in  search  of  subjects  and  snap-shotted  by  so  many 
tourists  from  transcontinental  trains,  had  come  to  dislike 
the  proceeding,  even  when  the  author  was  as  friendly  as 
Miinsterberg  and  the  picture  on  the  whole  not  unflattering. 
Nor  did  all  he  had  to  say  about  the  latent  idealism  of  the 
American  character  and  other  redeeming  qualities  avail  to 
overcome  German  opinion  to  the  contrary.  He  labored  in 
other  ways  to  promote  good  will  among  nations,  especially 
through  the  influence  of  men  of  light  and  leading.  The 
Congress  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  in  1904  which  brought 
together  such  a  notable  concourse  of  savants  from  all  coun- 
tries was  largely  of  his  planning,  and  to  its  success  he  gave 
unstintingly  of  thought  and  labor. 

When  the  War  broke  out  in  1914  and  the  current  of 
American  sentiment  at  the  very  beginning  set  strongly 
against  Germany  as  the  aggressor,  Miinsterberg  sprang  to 
correct  the  unfavorable  impression  and  to  explain  the 


FOREWORD  ^ 

European  situation  and  the  causes  of  the  War  from  the 
German  point  of  view.  It  was,  I  suppose,  what  an  Ameri- 
can long  resident  in  England  might  have  done  in  1861, 
when  the  British  press  was  delivering  itself  of  daily  tirades 
against  the  North,  not  infrequently  seasoned  with  evidences 
of  our  barbarism.  The  War  was  a  complete  surprise  to  all 
but  the  few  Americans  who  had  closely  followed  recent 
European  diplomatic  history  and  knew  how  narrowly  it 
had  more  than  once  been  averted.  Of  its  immediate  ante- 
cedents there  was  no  trustworthy  information,  and  of  the 
remoter  antecedents,  reaching  back  to  the  Congress  of  Ber- 
lin in  1878,  little  knowledge.  Nor  did  Miinsterberg 's  arti- 
cles throw  much  light  on  either  point ;  they  were  a  protest, 
and  an  ineffectual  plea.  Most  of  his  readers  had  simplified 
for  themselves  a  complicated  historical  problem  into  the 
question,  *'Who  did  itT'  and  did  not  hesitate  over  their 
answer. 

He  persevered,  however,  notwithstanding  the  increasing 
irritation  his  utterances  provoked.  As  months  passed, 
public  opinion  became  more  and  more  violently  intolerant 
of  everybody  that  did  not  join  in  the  cry,  Delenda  est  Oer- 
mania!  Miinsterberg  was  made  to  feel  this  keenly  in  the 
behavior  of  some  of  his  closest  colleagues.  He  was  hurt 
by  the  estrangement  of  old  friends  more  than  by  the  vitu- 
peration of  declared  foes;  but  he  went  steadily  on  his 
way,  persuaded,  like  many  Americans  at  the  time,  that  in 
seconding  the  efforts  of  the  president  of  the  United  States 
to  keep  the  country  out  of  war  he  was  serving  the  best  in- 
terests of  a  land  to  which  he  was  sincerely  attached,  and 
always  hopeful  of  the  speedy  return  of  European  peace. 
His  death  (December  16,  1916),  several  months  before  the 
declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States,  spared  him  the 
disappointment  of  these  hopes. 

Miinsterberg  was  of  a  buoyant  temperament,  and  pre- 


t 


X  FOREWORD 

served  into  middle  life  his  youthfulness  of  spirit.  His 
biographer  has  more  than  once  used  of  him  the  adjective 
** guileless/'  He  was  in  fact  a  singularly  unsuspicious 
nature,  and  not  infrequently  was  imposed  on  by  astute 
men.  It  was  another  exemplification  of  this  unsuspecting 
temper  that  he  did  not  stop  to  imagine  how  his  words 
would  be  taken  by  others — a  reflection  which  is,  after  all, 
the  condition  of  understanding  ourselves.  I  do  not  think 
it  ever  occurred  to  him,  for  instance,  that  any  American 
might  feel  toward  some  of  his  writings  much  as  the  self- 
respecting  heathen  feel  toward  a  missionary,  nor  why  his 
endeavors  to  gain  a  hearing  for  Germany's  cause  only  made 
many  Americans  believe  that  he  was  a  political  agent — 
a  role  for  which,  it  must  be  admitted,  few  men  could  have 
been  less  fitted. 

Besides  his  voluminous  popular  writings,  Miinsterberg 
produced  several  considerable  treatises  of  more  deliberate 
preparation  and  more  permanent  intention  both  in  the  field 
of  psychology  and  of  philosophy,  and  on  these  his  reputa- 
tion must  finally  rest.  The  analysis  of  these  works  in  the 
present  volume  will  enable  the  unprofessional  reader  to  ac- 
quaint himself  with  the  ruling  ideas  of  his  psychology  and 
of  his  system  of  philosophy.  In  the  remarkable  group  of 
men  who  represented  in  Harvard  University  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century  the  varieties  of  philosophy  which 
William  James  wittily  characterizes  in  one  of  his  letters, 
Miinsterberg  contributed  to  our  ' '  philosophic  universe ' '  his 
own  variety  of  idealism,  which  he  embodied  in  the  *' Eternal 
Values.*'  A  system  of  philosophy  is  not  merely  an  intel- 
lectual construction;  it  is  the  expression  of  a  man's  whole 
attitude  to  the  universe.  ''The  Eternal  Values"  is  an 
idealist's  confession  of  faith. 

George  F.  Moore 


CONTENTS 

OHAPTEB 

I.  Childhood        ^ 

II.  School  Years ^^ 

III.  Student  Years  and  Beginning  op  Career    .  19 

IV.  Under  the  Harvard  Elms 30 

V.  Black  Forest  Interlude 53 

VI.    Taking  Root ^^ 

VII.    Philosophers  and  Statesmen 69 

VIII.  The  World's  Scholars  at  the  World's  Fair    90 

IX.    Sages  and  Sinners .  130 

X.  Temporal  Currents  and  Eternal  Values    .  160 

XI.    An  Academic   Envoy 18*^ 

XII.    Back  at  Harvard .208 

XIII.    In  Sunlight 238 

XIV.    Under  the  Shadow 256 

APPENDIX 

Chapter  III  ...     • .303 

Chapter    IV  . ^08 

Chapter    VI ^08 

Chapter  VII ^16 

Chapter   IX 362 

Chapter     X ^82 

Index ^^^ 

zi 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAOINa 
PAOB 

Hugo  Miinsterberg Frontispiece 

Miinsterberg's  Psychological  Laboratory  at  Freiburg    26 

An  Experiment  at  the  First  Harvard  Psychological 

Laboratory  in  Dane  Hall,  Harvard  College,  1893  .     70 

Three  Harvard  Philosophers :  Professor  Josiah  Boyce; 
Professor  William  James;  Professor  George  Her- 
hert  Palmer 132 


••• 
zm 


' ) 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

HIS  LIFE  AND  WORK 


CHAPTER  I 


CHILDHOOD 


The  beautiful  mediaeval  city  of  Danzig— the  Venice  of 
the  North— was  the  birthplace  of  Hugo  Miinsterberg  and 
the  home  of  his  childhood.  The  setting  of  Danzig  has  all 
the  peculiar  beauties  of  the  northeastern  European  land- 
scape built,  as  it  is,  on  the  two  rivers,  the  Mottlau  and  the 
Vistula,  that  flow  into  the  Baltic  sea.  The  wide,  flat 
plains,  the  broad  rivers  with  their  floats  and  slow,  heavy- 
barges,  the  long  beaches,  brooded  over  by  a  sky  that  seems 
habitually  veiled,  though  not  sinister  or  really  clouded — 
these  give  one  a  feeling  of  infinity,  of  a  contemplative 
mood,  if  not  of  melancholy.  The  city  seems  to  stoop  over 
the  river,  to  cast  its  black  reflections  on  the  broad  water 
and  at  the  same  time  to  raise  its  dark  gables  and  spirals  into 
the  pale  gray  sky.  It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that 
Danzig,  with  its  Venetian  melancholy,  was  merely  a  dirge 
in  stone;  no,  the  great  Hansa  city  of  the  past  had  at  the 
time  of  Hugo's  youth,  an  active,  throbbing  present.  Not 
only  the  slow  characteristic  floats  and  barges  made  up  the 
traffic,  but  brisk  steamers  and  schooners  and  fishing  craft 
of  all  kinds  brightened  the  river.  On  fish-market  days 
there  was  a  tumult  on  the  bank  of  the  Mottlau  beneath 
the  gables  of  the  venerable  black-beamed  houses  of  trade 
that  outdid  any  scene  of  passionate  barter  with  the  scream- 
ing of  the  market  women,  the  whistling  of  the  boats  and  the 


h.  ^arl./<r, 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERQ 

bustling  of  eager  buyers.  Besides,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
somber  city  had  a  special  reputation  for  their  love  of 
pleasure  and,  on  the  summer  evenings  with  their  long  twi- 
light, one  side  of  the  main  street  of  the  city  was  devoted 
to  gay  and  flirtatious  youth,  while  on  the  other  side  the 
sober  and  older  citizens  went  discreetly  about  their  busi- 
ness. 

And  yet  the  dominant  note  of  Danzig  is  a  mesmeric 
reliving  of  a  beautiful  past,  and  as  you  walk  along  the 
rows  of  gabled,  dark  stone  houses,  some  of  them  adorned 
with  dignified  carvings  and  frescoes,  past  the  stone  porches 
with  their  peculiar,  great  balls  of  stone  on  the  railings — 
seen  nowhere  else  in  the  world — ^you  seem  to  be  walking 
in  the  Middle  Ages. 

In  one  of  these  houses  on  a  picturesque  and  ancient 
street,  Hugo  Miinsterberg  was  born  in  the  year  1863. 
His  father,  Moritz  Miinsterberg,  was  a  prominent  lumber 
merchant  who  bought  forests  in  Russia  which  came  sailing 
through  the  Baltic  Sea  and  down  the  Weichsel  as  majestic 
rafts  and  were  then  sold  to  England.  The  nature  of  this 
business,  dependent  as  it  was  on  international  relations,  on 
a  mental  horizon  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  one's  native 
land,  was  a  substantial  sjonbol  of  the  brisk  and  broad  spirit 
that  reigned  in  the  house  of  Moritz  Miinsterberg — a  spirit 
which  the  boy  could  not  help  breathing  from  his  earliest 
years,  and  which  became  a  motive  power  in  the  decisions 
and  actions  of  his  later  life.  At  least  once  a  year  Moritz 
Miinsterberg  journeyed  on  business  to  a  foreign  country, 
usually  to  England,  and  in  his  time  this  signified  enter- 
prise quite  above  the  usual.  Prom  his  journeys  the  mer- 
chant brought  home  relics  and  spirited  accounts  which 
made  his  family  conversant  with  thoughts  of  other  lands 
and  peoples. 

Hugo 's  mother,  Anna  Miinsterberg,  was  a  woman  of  rare 
gifts  whose  influence  over  her  son  was  constant  and  strong 

2 


CHILDHOOD 

throughout  his  life.    She  was  an  artist,  and,  ^though  she 
had  the  care  of  four  sons  and  a  large  household,  she  never 
neglected  her  painting  and  her  delicate  pen  and  ink  draw- 
ings     In  her  home,  love  and  respect  for  the  beautiful  in 
art,  music,  and  letters  were  planted  deeply.    In  this  re- 
gard  the  mother's  influence  by  no  means  counteracted  the 
father's,  but  both  father  and  mother,  who  were  said  to  have 
led  an  ideal  married  life,  were  one  in  their  reverence  for 
intellectual  and  artistic  achievement  and  their  eagerness  to 
encourage  this  among  their  sons.    Indeed,  Moritz  Munster- 
berg  was  one  of  those  merchants  to  whom  the  earning  of  a 
fortune  was  of  secondary  importance,  whereas  the  desire 
to  live  a  harmonious  life  and  foster  intellectual  interests 
was  paramount.    In  the  Miinsterberg  household  the  com- 
panionship of  good  books  was  taken  for  granted  and  the 
father's  travels  extended  his  readings  into  foreign  litera 
tures     Music,  too,  was  accorded  an  honored  p  ace.    The 
oldest  son,  Otto,  played  the  violin  and  Hugo  learned  to 

^^Hugo  wf  ""one  of  four  brothers  who  throughout  their 
lives  kept  up  a  loyal  devotion  unmarred  by  enforced  sep- 
arations.    Otto  and  Emil  were  respectively  ten  and  eight 
years  older  than  Hugo,  but  his  brother  Oskar  was  only 
two  years  younger  and,  therefore,  his  playmate.    The  child- 
hood  of  the  two  little  boys  was  one  of  care-free,  untroubled 
happiness,  although  study  claimed  their  serious  interest 
much  earlier  than  it  does  a  boy's  life  at  the  present  time. 
It  is  worth  while  to  consider  the  influence  that  the  city 
of  Danzig  itself  must  have  had  on  the  imagination  of  a 
thoughtful  boy.    The  architecture  of  the  city  mirrors  its 
history,  and  the  dramatic  history  of  Danzig  from  its  be- 
ginning in  the  tenth  century  cannot  fail  to  thrill  one  with 
a  sense  of  the  marvelous  changes  in  the  destinies  of  peoples. 
The  marks  left  by  the  current  of  history  were  all  famil- 
iar to  Hugo.    On  the  Long  Market-Place,  the  center  of  the 

3 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


city,  stands  the  ancient  City  Hall  with  its  delicate  spire, 
its  dignified  halls,  full  of  relics  and  mellow  portraits,  where 
momentous  decisions  have  been  made,  both  under  Polish 
and  under  Prussian  suzerainty.  Near  the  City  Hall  is  the 
old  Corn  Exchange,  rich  in  frescoes  and  carvings,  where 
once  the  merchant  kings,  not  unlike  the  Doges  of  Venice, 
made  their  fortunes  with  bold  traffic  overseas. 

The  prominent  feature  in  the  profile  of  Danzig  as  one 
approaches  the  city  from  the  river  and,  indeed,  from  most 
points  of  view,  is  the  unique  St.  Mary 's  church.  Its  square, 
gray  tower  which  never  received  the  pointed  steeple  that 
was  intended  to  complete  it,  rises  stern  and  solemn  above 
the  irregular  line  of  gabled  roofs.  Though  the  church  is 
Gothic  in  design— at  least  an  early  Gothic,  emerging  out 
of  the  Romanesque— there  could  be  no  greater  contrast  to 
the  delicate  lace- work  steeples  of  Strassburg,  Freiburg  and 
Cologne.  It  seems  to  brood  over  the  city  and  to  carry  with 
a  somber  dignity  all  the  weight  of  its  rich  past.  The 
church  holds,  in  a  niche  apart,  a  famous  altar  picture,  a 
triptych  by  Memling  which  Napoleon  brought  to  Danzig 
as  a  spoil  of  war.  In  its  stern,  naive  beauty  and  partly, 
perhaps,  too,  because  of  its  isolated  position  in  the  gray  old 
church  and  the  perfect  harmonizing  of  its  spirit  with  that 
of  its  background,  this  **Last  Judgment"  cannot  fail  to 
make  a  lasting  impression  on  the  beholder. 

Steeped  as  Danzig  was  with  enchanting  traces  of  the 
past,  it  was,  nevertheless,  in  Hugo's  childhood  also  the 
scene  of  living  and  stirring  events.  In  later  life  Hugo 
Munsterberg  often  recalled  one  scene  as  his  earliest  recollec- 
tion—the passing  underneath  his  window  of  troops  going 
into  the  Franco-Prussian  War  in  1870.  He  also  remem- 
bered how  his  mother  with  other  ladies  had  eagerly  made 
bandages  for  the  wounded  soldiers. 

The  country  about  the  old  city  offers  a  manifold  beauty 
to  the  eyes  and  hearts  of  young  and  old.    Hugo  and  his 


CHILDHOOD 

brothers  had  the  happiest  opportunity  for  enjoying  these 
beauties.  As  soon  as  May  touched  the  gray  city  with  its 
sunshine  and  waked  the  lilac  and  syringa  bushes  in  the 
surrounding  gardens,  the  Munsterberg  family  moved  into 
its  summer  house  in  the  suburb,  Langfuhr  a  white  stone 
house  with  a  large  rambling  garden  which  was  a  veritable 
paradise  for  the  four  brothers.  Next  door  to  them  was  the 
house  and  equally  big  and  alluring  garden  of  their  young 
boy  cousins  and  playmates— a  garden  which  in  later  years 
became  the  permanent  homestead  of  Hugo's  oldest  brother, 
Otto,  where  he  built  his  villa  and  lived  until  a  few  years 

before  his  death. 

During  Hugo  Miinsterberg's  later  life  the  garden  m 
Langfuhr  stood  for  the  incarnation  of  his  happy  boyhood. 
It  was  the  kind  of  garden  that  must  bloom  on  forever  in 
the  hearts  of  those  who  have  once  played  or  rambled  m  it, 
or  read  romances  in  its  shady  bowers.    On  its  lawn  sported 
a  little  lamb,  the  pet  of  the  four-year-old  Hugo,  and  pigeons 
fluttered  overhead.    Gymnastic  apparatus,  swing,  and  see- 
saw were  at  the  disposal  of  brothers  and  cousins,  as  were 
the  ever-hospitable  currant  and  gooseberry  bushes.    In- 
deed, the  feasts  in  the  garden  long  remained  tender  mem- 
ories for  those  who  had  partaken  of  them.    First  came  the 
luxurious  strawberries,  then,  in  the  glow  of  midsummer, 
an  abundance  of  shining  red  and  yellow  currants  that  re- 
quired no  stooping,  but  simply  rained  down  into  eager 
hands  and  mouths.    It  was  among   the  tall  gooseberry 
bushes,  though,  that  the  little  boys  liked  to  hide  and  hunt 
the  well  protected,  leaf -colored  berries  and,  wrapped  in  an 
air  of  mystery  and  adventure,  revel  in  their  clandestine 
feasts.    As  autumn  drew  near,  apples  and  pears  ripened 
on  the  trellises  and  there  were  harvest  joys. 

A  great  locust  tree  in  the  garden  was  renowned  in  the 
family  history  because  so  much  of  the  happy  summer  life 
was  passed  beneath  its  benevolent  boughs.    There  Hugo, 

5 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


when  lie  had  outgrown  the  age  for  pet  lambs  and  goose- 
berries, read  his  classics—poetry  and  drama— for  he  was 
an  avid  reader  from  the  earliest  age.  Then,  for  contem- 
plation or  leisurely  talk,  there  was  a  lane  of  shady  lindens 
to  stroll  in,  and  for  study  or  play  alike  a  summer-house. 
This  also  served  as  a  stage,  when  the  boys  were  old  enough 
for  theatricals;  the  performance,  one  summer,  of  Scribe's 
Un  Verre  d'Eau  was  looked  back  on  by  the  brothers  with 

a  special  delight. 

With  all  its  other  attributes,  the  garden,  of  course,  did 
not  lack  flowers.  On  the  first  of  June,  to  adorn  Hugo's 
birthday,  the  famous  lilac  bushes  of  Langf uhr  were  in  their 
most  glorious  bloom.  Beneath  them  Hugo  did  not  cele- 
brate alone;  little  Selma,  a  distant  cousin  whose  parents 
lived  in  Danzig  during  her  early  childhood,  had  her  birth- 
day, too,  on  the  first  of  June,  and  the  two  children  were 
feted  together  in  the  garden  of  Langfuhr,  although  the 
little  girl  found  Hugo's  younger  brother  Oskar  much  more 
congenial,  as  he  was  less  of  a  bookworm  and  did  not  scorn 
to  play  dolls.  It  was  not  little  Selma 's  fault  that  the 
future  was  veiled  to  her,  while  she  played  under  the  lilacs, 
and  she  could  not  dream  that,  after  years  of  separation,  it 
was  to  be  the  wise  and  elder  Hugo  who  would  lead  her 
away  as  his  bride. 

When  the  lilac  blooming  was  over,  the  summer  flowers 
had  their  turn,  some  well  ordered  in  formal  beds  of  orna- 
mental design,  others  with  more  native  freedom.  All  the 
old-fashioned  flowers  were  there;  especially  the  fragrance 
of  gilly-flowers  and  mignonette  pervaded  the  memories  of 
Hugo's  childhood.  Roses  crowned  the  garden,  roses  in 
profusion — quaint  monthly  roses  on  bushes  and  lavish,  per- 
fect roses  on  trees.  **The  roses  in  Langfuhr!"  came  to 
be  a  saying  fraught  with  remembrances  of  joy  and  beauty. 

Only  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  the  garden,  across  a 
stretch  of  fields  flaming  with  wild  poppies,  were  the  woods 


CHILDHOOD 

of  Langfuhr.    There  was  not  a  grove  in  these  woods,  not  a 
vista  from  any  of  the  rambling  hills  that  Hugo  and  Oskar 
did  not  know.    They  were  not  wild  woods,  but  carefully 
cleared  from  rough  underbrush,  with  smooth,  broad  paths 
accessible  to  young  and  old,  with  benches  here  and  there 
from  which  one  could  look  over  the  gentle  slopes  sometimes 
as  far  as  the  Baltic  Sea.    Nevertheless,  among  the  oak  and 
beech  trees  and  in  the  solemn  groves  of  pines  and  firs 
lurked   gnomes   and   fairies   enough  to   capture   Hugo  s 
imagination,  and  there  was  one  dell  that  he  and  his  brothers 
named  the  -enchanted  spot"  that  kept  this  designation  for 
decades  later.    Indeed,  the  fairies  of  the  Langfuhr  woods 
and  the  mermaids  of  the  Baltic  Sea  had  no  mean  share  in 
Hugo's  education,  and  it  was  due  to  their  early  influence 
over  an  apt  pupil  that  throughout  his  life,  to  the  very  end, 
he  could  read  the  beauties  of  woods  and  sea,  wherever  he 
found  them,  as  in  an  open  book. 

Not  only  were  the  boys  free  to  roam  in  the  woods  so 
near  their  home  at  their  own  pleasure,  but  the  recreation  of 
the  whole  family  on  Sunday  afternoons  was  nothing  more 
or  less  than  walks  together  through  woods  and  fields. 
Then  the  father  would  call  his  sons'  attention  to  some 
sport  in  nature  or  to  some  strange  flower  or  beetle.    At  one 
time,  too,  the  boys  had  collections  of  butterflies  that  they 
caught  themselves,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  times 
On  these  Sunday  rambles  the  father  had  long  talks  with 
his  sons  on  all  topics,  free  from  the  restrictions  of  the 
weekly  routine  and  business  cares,  and  devoted  his  experi- 
enced and  active  mind  to  their  development. 

Besides  their  ^own"  woods  of  Langfuhr,  the  boys  had 
at  their  disposal  for  their  holiday  the  woods,  fields,  and 
beaches  of  the  many  other  enchanting  spots  round  Danzig. 
There  was  Oliva  with  its  old,  melancholy,  summer  palace 
and  rambling,  formal  gardens  where  kings  used  to  take 
their  ease.    The  grounds  of  this  palace  offered  to  the  chil- 

7 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


dren  the  richest  food  for  their  imagination.  The  little  trees 
clipped  in  the  French  style  like  poodles,  set  in  ceremonious 
rows,  whispered  of  roccoco  days  when  sad-eyed  princesses 
laced  in  shimmering  brocade  tripped  over  the  fine  lawn 
to  sigh  and  meditate.  There  was  the  somber  gold-fish  pool 
and  the  long  lane  of  poplar  trees  which  by  an  artificial 
device  had  been  made  to  look  as  if  it  stretched  out  end- 
lessly as  far  as  the  sea,  although  in  reality  it  was  short  with 
a  deceptive  view  of  the  actually  distant  sea  at  the  end. 
The  boys'  delight  were  the  whispering  grottoes— two  sky- 
blue  artificial  grottoes  some  distance  apart  yet  endowed 
with  a  miraculous  quality  by  which  a  word  whispered 
against  the  wall  of  one  grotto  can  be  heard  by  any  one 
standing  in  the  other.  So  they  would  stand  facing  the 
mysterious  blue  walls  and  wonder  what  they  could  whisper, 
and,  after  pondering,  confide  some  inanity  with  great 
mirth  to  the  transmitting  powers  of  the  magic  grotto. 

From  the  drowsy  king's  garden  they  would  step  out 
into  the  sunny  genial  landscape — the  country  roads  with 
cheerful  cottages,  the  waving  golden  grain  fields  flooded 
with  scarlet  poppies.  Woods  and  fields,  however,  were  not 
enough;  beyond  them  beckoned  the  Baltic  Sea.  When 
Hugo  was  a  student,  he  dedicated  to  his  first  niece  a  fairy 
tale  called :  The  Amber  Princess,  Search  for  the  precious 
amber  on  the  beaches  held  a  special  glamour  for  the  boys, 
who  were  proud  when,  among  the  many  quaint  sea  shells, 
they  found  a  chip  of  lucid  golden  amber.  At  an  early  age 
the  boys  experienced  the  joys  of  bathing  and  rowing  and 
of  lying  in  the  sand  of  the  high  white  dunes.  In  Zoppot, 
the  popular  watering  place,  charming  woods  sloped  gently 
down  to  the  sea,  and  from  the  gay,  swarming  life  of  the 
summer  guests — among  them  many  Russians  and  Poles — 
on  the  piers  and  the  beach,  and  the  gardens  of  the  many 
little  cafes,  one  could  turn  aside  into  the  seclusion  of  gentle 
pine  forests.    Then  there  were  the  fishermen 's  villages  with 

8 


CHILDHOOD 

the  little  huts  by  the  sea  and  nets  spread  out  on  the  sand, 
the  great  lighthouses  on  the  sandspit,  and,  what  was  im- 
printed  especially  on  Hugo's  imagination,  so  tbat  ^^  ^^^^^^^ 
of  it  often  as  a  grown  man,  was  the  appearing  of  mirages, 
especially  the  image  of  Helgoland  in  the  sky 

Beauty  that  was  thus  impressed  on  Hugo  at  an  early 
a^e  could  be  found  even  in  the  work-a-day  scenes  of  his 
^ther^s  business.    Not  far  from  Langfuhr,   acro^  low 
etl  p  ains,  was  Lega.,  the  lumber-yard.    What  delight 
Jas  to  climb  over  slippery  piles  of  long  smooth  logs,  to 
hear  the  Polish  laborers  shouting  at  their  work,  to  watch  the 
mai  tic  floats  glide  down  the  canal  that  flowed  through 
The'  lumber-y^^     to  the  bright,  bustling  Mottlau  ^^^^^^^^^ 
and,  in  the  excitement  of  watching,  now  and  then  to  tumble 
into  the  water!    Then  to  cross  the  Mottlau  ^^  ^jowboa^^ 
to  watch  the  lading  of  the  steamers  and  sail-boats,  the 
pushing  of  the  great  square  barges,  the  ^ ^s^^f  |^^^^^^ 
Lmance  of  the  never-weary  dredging  machine!    Polish 
cries  sounded  from  boat  to  shore;  the  broad   brown  fax^es 
of  the  Poles  looked  up  from  the  wharfs     On  the  boats 
waved  not  only  German,  but  Russian  and  English   flags 
here  blew  the  breath  of  overseas  traffic,  of  peaceful,  bold 
and  adventurous  intercourse  among  nations.     It  was  not 
by  chance,  then,  that  Hugo,  a  score  or  so  of  years  later, 
should  have  found  in  his  nature  a  strong  willingness  to 
heed  the  call  of  -Westward-ho!"    Although,  throughout 
his  boyhood  and  youth,  he  had  a  home  in  the  most  com- 
plete  sense,  where  the  family  roots  were  deeply  planted, 
and  knew  the  claims  of  a  native  city  that  had  no  rival  m 
his  affections,  although  he  felt  the  charms  of  a  secluded 
garden   and    dreamy    woods,    nevertheless   the    spirit    of 
-hands  across  the  sea"  must  have  been  breathed  into  the 
boy  by  the  wind  that  swelled  the  sails  on  the  Mottlau. 

Thus  his  native  city  and  the  country  round  about  helped 
to  influence  the  boy's  imagination.    These  influences  were 

9 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

supplemented  at  an  earlier  age  than  is  customary  nowadays 
"by  contact  with  books.  The  fostering  of  liberal  interests  in 
his  father's  house  has  been  pointed  out  before.  The  knowl- 
edge and  ideas  that  the  parents  acquired  were  not  hoarded 
for  the  miserly  use  of  the  individual,  but  were  lavished 
freely  on  the  children.  Intercourse  with  books  and  a  mind 
receptive  to  general  interests  thus  became  for  Hugo  a  neces- 
sary demand  on  life.  It  has  been  said  before,  too,  that 
his  gifted  young  mother  led  him  into  the  world  of  art.  The 
little  Hugo  was  taken  into  the  studio  of  his  mother's  paint- 
ing teacher,  Streowski,  to  admire  his  paintings — dramatic 
pictures  of  life  among  the  Galician  Jews  or  fantastic  ones 
of  fairy  creatures.  At  an  early  age,  too,  Hugo  and  his 
Jjrothers  were  led  through  the  small,  but  by  no  means  in- 
significant, Art  Museum  where  they  could  not  gaze  enough 
at  their  favorite  picture,  a  large  sea  piece,  popularly  called 
**the  blue  wonder,''  because  of  the  rare  intensity  of  the 
sea's  blue.  Although  Hugo  never  learned  to  draw,  nor 
betrayed  the  least  talent  in  that  line,  this  early  initiation 
into  the  world  of  art  was  not  without  fruit;  indeed,  it 
planted  the  seed  for  a  profound  delight  in  painting  and 
sculpture,  a  lasting  reverence  for  artistic  creation,  and  a 
perfectly  sure  sense  of  beauty.  His  later  life  gave  him 
ample  opportunity  to  exercise  this  sense.  Not  only  was 
he  an  appreciative  and  keen  judge  of  the  work  of  his  wife, 
who  did  not  begin  a  serious  study  of  painting  until  after 
her  marriage,  but  in  the  adornment  of  his  home  he  took 
an  eager  and  active  part  and  gathered  such  objects  of  art 
and  decoration  as  were  within  his  means.  His  travels,  too, 
allowed  him  to  enjoy  art  treasures  in  several  countries,  and 
he  never  lost  interest  in  aesthetic  problems. 

The  little  Hugo's  relation  to  music  was  a  more  active  one, 
as  he  began  lessons  on  the  'ceUo  at  nine  years.  Although 
he  did  not  keep  up  his  playing  very  long  after  his  student 
days  and  never  pretended  to  attain  distinction  in  it,  he 

10 


A' 


CHILDHOOD 

was  musical  by  nature  and  a  good  judge  of  music.  In  the 
very  last  years  of  his  Uf  e,  symphony  concerts  were  the  one 
recreation  of  his  serious  winters.  ,      ,    ^ ,,         ^ 

Of  all  the  arts,  however,  it  was  poetry  that  took  the  most 
powerful  hold  on  Hugo  as  a  child,  and  it  was  in  this  field 
of  artistic  activity  that  he  reached  some  achievement 
He  wrote  his  first  poem  at  the  age  of  seven  and  from  that 
time  on  continued  to  write  lyric  poetry  and  later  epics 
and  drama.  Poetry  in  Europe  and  especially  in  those  days 
was  not  considered  an  intellectual  luxury;  it  was  rather 
a  vital  part  of  mental  life.  In  the  evenings  Hugo  s  father 
read  to  his  little  sons  from  the  classical  poets,  so  that  the 
boys  were  introduced  to  the  world  of  letters  long  before 
school  opened  the  gates  to  it. 

Hugo's  education  outside  of  his  home  began  with  kinder- 
garten,  followed  by  a  private  school  until,  at  the  age  of 
nine,  he  entered  the  -Gymnasium"  of  Danzig     The  Ger- 
man '^Gymnasium"  was  the  standard  school,  which,  though 
it  was  a  city  institution,  was  regulated  by  the  state  govern- 
ment, something  as  state  universities  are  controlled  in 
America,  except  that  the  same  standard  for  all  Gymnasia-- 
later  for  all  Gymnasia  of  the  same  kind,  as  there  came  to  be 
three   different   varietie^was   enforced   throughout   the 
state     This  school  offered  a  curriculum  that  would  cor- 
respond to  both  the  grammar  school  and  the  high  school, 
leading  to  a  point  reached  at  the  end  of  the  Sophomore 
year  by  a  student  in  a  first-class  American  college.     Yet 
a  Gymnasium,  in  contrast  to  a  college,  maintained  through- 
out the  last  years,  the  strictly  prescribed  course  and  disci- 
pline of  a  school.    The  passing  of  a  final  examination  or 
-Abiturium"  opened  to  the  graduate  of  the  Gymnasium 
the  door  of  any  German  university.    The  young  student 
passed  then  from  severest  mental  discipline  into  the  un- 
bounded freedom  of  European  academic  life. 
With  this  ultimate  aim  in  view,  the  nine-year-old  Hugo 

11 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

entered  on  his  school  career.  In  his  day,  more  than  at  the 
present  time,  the  amount  and  quality  of  work  demanded 
in  the  Gymnasium  was  so  great  that  it  would  make  an 
American  boy  of  to-day  gasp.  Nevertheless  hard  study 
did  not  cloud  Hugo's  happy  childhood,  as  he  was  naturally 
gifted  for  it,  and  it  did  not  dampen  his  zest  for  reading 
outside  of  school.  School  days  were  full  of  hard  work, 
but  holidays  were  all  the  more  joyful,  and  little  Hugo's 
life  continued  bright,  stimulating,  and  cheerful  until  a 
great  shadow  fell  upon  it. 

When  Hugo  was  twelve  years  old,  his  mother  died.  She 
died  a  young  woman,  worshiped  by  her  family,  and  left 
her  sons  disconsolate  and  her  husband  heart-broken.  Al- 
though her  ennobling  influence  over  Hugo  had  been  limited 
to  twelve  years  of  her  life,  it  lasted  with  wonderful  potency 
to  the  very  end  of  his  own.  On  Anna  Miinsterberg's  tomb- 
stone was  engraved  the  epitaph :  *' Your  life  was  sunshine." 

Deprived  of  this  sunshine  Hugo  turned  from  a  carefree 
child  into  a  serious  boy. 


CHAPTER  II 


SCHOOL  YEARS 

Hugo  Mltnsterberg 's  school  years  were  full  of  exacting 
intellectual  labor  under  stern  mental  discipline     Tasks 
were  set  that  to-day  no  schoolboy  would  dream  of  fulfilling. 
For  instance,  the  boys  in  Hugo's  Greek  class  were  given 
passages  from  Schiller's  Maid  of  Orleans  to  translate  into 
Greek  hexameter.    But  as  Hugo  had  natural  aptitude  for 
all  branches,  mathematics  and  science  as  well  as  the  classics 
and  history,  he  did  not  regard  as  a  burden  the  hard  study 
that  was  required.    On  the  other  hand,  he  cultivated  so 
many  outside  interests,  partly  roused  by  the  school  studies 
that  at  times  he  neglected  his  prescribed  work  in  a  way  that 
would  have  had  awkward  results  if  he  had  not  entered 
school  so  young  that  a  little  lagging  behind  once  or  twice 
made  no  difference  in  the  end. 

The  foremost  of  these  distracting  sirens  was  literature. 
Hugo  read  an  enormous  amount,  particularly  drama.    He 
kept  on  writing  poetry  and  fiction.    When  he  was  fourteen 
years  old,  he  wrote  a  ballad  on  a  legendary  theme  out  of 
which  his  father  had  already  made  a  ballad  before  him  and 
which  a  generation  later  one  of  his  children  put  into  ballad 
form  again,  so  as  to  keep  this  chain  of  ballads  continuous 
in  the  family.    The  theme  was  the  story  of  Kumgunde  of 
Kuhnhast,  the  princess  who  required  her  suitors  to  ride 
round  her  castle  on  the  narrow  top  of  a  high  wall  on  the 
edge  of  a  precipice  and  who  was  disdained  by  the  one  suitor 
who  performed  the  feat  and  whom  she  loved.    Imaginative 
material  of  this  kind  appealed  to  Hugo.    A  year  later 
he  wrote  a  long  epic  poem  * '  On  the  Shore  of  the  North  Sea 

13 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


and  two  years  after  that  a  story  about  the  mermaid  Melu- 
sine.  Verse  he  wrote  throughout  his  school  years  and 
gathered  his  poems  in  an  ** album/*  In  the  days  of  his 
boyhood,  to  be  sure,  the  muse  of  poetry  was  a  more  frequent 
guest  in  any  educated  household  than  it  is  to-day,  and  it 
was  the  usual  remedy  for  a  love-lorn  youth  to  write  sonnets 
to  *'his  mistress'  eyebrows/'  Hugo's  friendship  with  the 
muse  was,  however,  less  conventional;  with  him  it  was  a 
deeply  rooted  passion,  so  that  for  a  time  it  was  his  serious 
intention  to  devote  his  life  to  her  service.  Although  later, 
when  he  entered  the  University, .  he  decided  at  the  cross- 
roads to  take  the  path  of  scholarship  rather  than  that  of 
literature,  nevertheless  he  was  never  faithless  to  his  first 
love,  but  kept  for  her  always  a  warm  place  in  his  heart. 

Together  with  a  friend,  Hugo  brought  out  a  magazine, 
Loose  Leaves,  something  in  the  nature  of  a  <;ollege  period- 
ical.  Besides  literature  the  problems  of  language  itself 
attracted  Hugo.  When  he  was  only  fifteen,  he  compounded 
a  **  Lexicon  of  Foreign  Words  used  in  German  and  their 
Etymology.'*  This  pastime  he  practiced  outside  of  school 
hours.  As  a  diversion,  too,  he  studied  Arabic  and  reached 
a  point  at  which  he  could  read  the  Koran;  with  a  friend  he 
also  explored  the  mysteries  of  Sanskrit. 

The  same  spirit  of  scholarly  adventure  that  inspired 
Hugo  to  study  etymology  led  him  also  to  the  pursuit  of 
archaeology.  This  was  an  especially  absorbing  study,  be- 
cause in  cities  near  Danzig,  Tolkuit  and  Elbing,  there  was 
opportunity  for  excavation.  Young  archaeologists,  under 
the  guidance  of  trained  older  men,  dug  out  urns  with  faces 
on  them,  relics  from  Roman  days.  It  is  not  hard  to  imag- 
ine the  impression  such  intimate  contact  with  the  very 
substance  of  the  past  must  have  made  on  a  boy  whose  **his- 
toric-mindedness"  was  already  highly  developed;  through- 
out his  life  reverence  and  fondness  for  beautiful  messen- 
gers from  remote  ages  clung  to  Hugo.    It  was  in  the  last 

14 


SCHOOL  YEARS 

years  of  his  life,  at  a  time  when  cares  weighed  heavily 
on  him,  that  he  went  to  the  Boston  Art  Museum  to  search 
for  the  exquisite  little  statue  of  the  snake  goddess  from 
Crete,  a  rarely  modern  looking  lady  from  the  year  1600  ^ 
B  o  He  found  her,  she  thrilled  and  delighted  him.  The 
study  of  archeology,  which  began  a^  an  avocation  Hugo 
later  combined  with  his  school  work,  and  the  final  thesis 
he  offered  for  his  diploma  before  leaving  the  Gymnasium 
was  on  ^*West  Prussia  in  Prehistoric  Times.'' 

In  spite  of  these  more  scholarly  interests,  Hugo  did 
not  neglect  his  'cello  playing.     One  of  his  friends  formed 
an  amateur  orchestra  in  which  Hugo  played.    In  Danzig, 
moreover,  there  was  no  dearth  of  concerts,  opera,  theater, 
and  lectures.    At  the  theater,  especially,  there  was  always 
a  repertoire  of  good  plays,  so  that  the  boy's  acquaintance 
with  classic  drama  was,  as  it  were,  first  hand  and  intimate. 
Operas  that  are  now  caUed  old-fashioned  were  then  in 
vogue  and  were  received  with  enthusiasm  by  the  musical 
worid  of  Danzig,  operas  such  as  -The  White  Lady     Lort- 
zing 's  ^  ^  Czar  and  Carpenter, "  -  Undine, ' '  Flotow  s    Mar- 
tha "  Meyerbeer's  -Prophet";  others,  too,  that  have  out- 
lastU  fashion,  such  as  -Carmen,''  and  Wagner  s  early 
operas  were  given  alternately  with  the  plays  at  the  city 

theater 

In  his  varied  pursuits  Hugo  was  by  no  means  a  recluse. 
He  enjoyed  a  circle  of  friends  who  shared  one  or  the  other 
of  his  interests.  He  belonged  to  a  club  that  amused  itself 
in  a  wuy  that  would  seem  strangely  serious  to  school  boys 
of  to-day.  The  friends  read  plays  together,  each  choosmg 
a  part  and  reading  it  instead  of  acting  it  out.  Later 
another  literary  club  was  formed  with  the  h»gh  «oundmg 
name  Mnemosyne  in  which  drama  was  read  al»"d  *nd  the 
members  also  read  their  own  productions.  In  this  circle 
Hugo  found  a  responsive  audience  for  his  own  poetic  works. 

Not  all  the  social  pastimes,  however,  were  on  the  plane 

15 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


of  music  and  literature.  The  happy  summer  life  in  garden, 
woods,  and  fields  has  been  spoken  of  in  the  previous  chapter. 
Boys  learned  to  swim  as  a  matter  of  course.  In  the  stern 
northern  winters,  when  the  rivers  were  frozen,  skating  was 
the  great  amusement  for  the  young  people  of  Danzig. 
Skating  was  considered  less  a  sport  than  a  social  pleasure 
and  ** going  skating''  meant  skating  with  girl  friends  in 
the  brisk  cold  air  with  mirth  and  healthy  joy  of  living. 

Dancing  school  held  an  honored  place  in  an  older  boy's 
life  in  those  days,  for  dancing  was  not  taught  to  children, 
but  to  young  men  and  girls  old  enough  for  flirtations.  In 
Hugo's  school  years  dancing  played  a  stimulating  part. 

In  spite  of  the  rich  and  varied  claims  on  Hugo,  his 
family  still  held  the  uppermost  place  in  his  affection,  even 
after  the  death  of  his  mother,  and  among  the  four  brothers 
there  continued  a  rare  devotion. 

While  Hugo  and  Oskar  were  still  very  young,  they 
played  mischievous  pranks  on  the  elderly  ladies  engaged  to 
take  charge  of  the  motherless  household;  but  Oskar  was 
generally  the  livelier  and  naughtier  of  the  two.  The  oldest 
brother.  Otto,  had  entered  his  father's  business  and  was 
therefore  settled  in  Danzig;  the  second  brother  Emil  was 
a  law  student  at  Zurich,  Leipzig,  and  Gottingen.  In  his 
vacations  Emil  found  his  greatest  pleasure  in  traveling, 
especially  in  wandering  on  foot  through  the  mountains. 
On  one  of  these  wanderings,  through  the  ^^Riesengebirge" 
in  Silesia  he  took  his  two  younger  brothers,  and  on  Hugo's 
imagination  these  mountains,  the  home  of  Riibezahl  and 
other  legendary  folk,  made  a  deep  impression. 

Although  journeys  for  pleasure  were  but  occasional 
and  Hugo's  youth  really  belonged  altogether  to  Danzig, 
contact  with  the  outside  world  was  never  lost  because  his 
father  continued  to  travel  on  business  in  foreign  countries, 
and  to  fill  the  minds  of  his  sons  with  the  problems  of  ex- 

16 


SCHOOL  YEARS 


change,  economic  and  intellectual,  among  nations.  In  his 
diary  Moritz  Miinsterberg  wrote  meditations  on  what  he 
saw  and  heard  and,  on  his  return,  his  experiences  were  lived 
through  again  to  be  shared  by  his  eager  sons. 

It  was  immediately  after  his  return  from  Lisbon  in  1881 
that  Hugo's  father  was  overtaken  by  an  acute  illness  and 
lied.  So  at  eigbteen  Hugo  was  an  orphan.  Otto,  the  oldest 
brother,  who  continued  his  father's  business,  was  now  the 
head  of  the  family  and  the  younger  brothers  looked  to  him 
for  advice  and  authority. 

The  following  year  Otto  married  the  daughter  of  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Danzig.  iEIugo"'s  young  sister-in-law 
took  a  maternal  attitude  toward  her  husband's  younger 
brothers  who  lived  in  her  household.  She  was  a  brilliant 
pianist  and  had  also  a  fine  sense  for  literature.  The 
married  life  of  Otto  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife  was  steeped 
in  music.  They  played  duets ;  often  Hugo  joined  them  with 
his  'cello  in  a  trio,  and  musical  friends  helped  to  form 
quartets  and  quintets  on  long  summer  evenings,  so  that 
harmonies  of  Beethoven  and  Brahms  would  float  out  of  the 
wide  windows  over  the  fragrant  garden.  To  his  sister-in- 
law  Hu^o  also  owed  summer  vacations  on  Dombrovken,  the 
large  country  estate  of  her  relatives,  where  Hugo  and 
Oskar  became  acquainted  with  real  farm  life  in  its  peculiar 
characteristic  form  in  the  northeast. 

Hugo's  last  school  year  was  naturally  overshadowed  by 
grief;  nevertheless,  he  plunged  into  work  for  the  **AbitiL' 
rium*'  or  final  examination  that  opens  the  door  to  any 
university.  This  examination  was  most  rigorous  and  in- 
cluded oral  as  well  as  written  tests  in  all  subjects;  those, 
however,  who  passed  the  written  ones  with  unusual  distinc- 
tion were  exempt  from  the  harrowing  oral  examination. 
It  was  Hugo 's  good  fortune  that  his  written  tests  possessed 
the  required  excellence  and  he  was  spared  further  effort. 

17 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

In  1882  he  had  passed  his  ''Ahiturium*'  and  was  entitled 
to  wear  the  traditional  red  cap  flaunted  by  all  the  proud 
graduates  of  the  Gymnasium  as  a  symbol  of  passing  from 
the  confinement  of  school  and  authority  into  the  free,  open 
world. 


CHAPTER  III 

STUDENT  YEARS  AND  BEGINNING  OF  CAREER 

The  transition  from  school  to  university  life,  in  Con- 
tinental Europe,  does  not  mean,  as  it  does  in  America,  a 
step  from  a  small  institution  to  a  larger,  broader,  and  more 
advanced  one :  it  means  a  step  from  severe  mental  discipline 
and  many  restrictions  to  the  happy  life  of  unbounded  free- 
dom.   There  is  no  tender  pledge  of  faith  to  one  Alma 
Mater;  there  are  not  even  the  well  defined  duties  and 
obligations  that  form  the  framework  of  American  college 
life.    But  the  European  student  chooses  the  several  uni- 
versities that  he  attends  for  the  illustrious  scholars  in  his 
chosen  field  that  draw  him  there,  or  for  the  cities  and  towns 
in  which  they  are  located  where  he  promises  himself  the 
greatest  amount  of  pleasure  or  inspiration.     Furthermore, 
he  is  not  obliged  to  study.    To  be  sure,  if  he  desires  to 
pass  the  examination  for  a  doctor's  degree,  he  cannot  do 
so  without  having  at  his  disposal  a  very  definite  store  of 
information ;  but  no  one  cares  how  this  was  acquired.    The 
fountain  of  knowledge  pours  forth  its  waters  abundantly, 
and  those  that  will  can  slake  their  thirst ;  and  those  who 
prefer,  may  turn  away  and  ''sport  with  Amaryllis  in  the 

shade.'' 

Miinsterberg,  only  nineteen  when  he  was  ready  to  enter 
the  university,  at  a  stage  comparable  to  the  end  of  the 
sophomore  year  in  our  colleges,  was  in  no  hurry  to  rush 
into  professional  studies.  Except  for  occasional  vacation 
visits,  Miinsterberg  had  hitherto  spent  all  his  childhood  and 
youth  in  his  native  city  of  Danzig  with  its  mediaeval  towers 
and  gray  northern  skies.  It  was  natural  that  he  should 
have  the  desire  to  try  breathing  a  different  air  among 

19 


HUaO  MIJNSTERBERG 

strange  people,  to  see  a  part  of  the  world  unknown  to  tlie 
northern  youth.  He  chose  Geneva.  There  he  could  spend 
a  summer  semester  lear>>ing  French — that  is,  improving 
and  expanding  the  knowledge  of  French  gained  at  school- 
enjoy  the  beauties  of  lake  and  mountains,  as  well  as  meet 
other  students  who  flocked  there  from  all  countries.  Had 
some  prophet  foretold  Hugo  Miinsterberg  that  he  would 
spend  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  an  English-speaking 
country  and  write  the  majority  of  his  books  in  the  English 
language,  perhaps,  considering  that  he  had  not  learned  it 
at  school,  he  would  not  have  turned  so  eagerly  to  the  pur- 
suit of  French. 

As  it  happened,  he  found  a  number  of  Englishmen  lodg- 
ing in  the  same  ** pension**  with  him.  Indeed,  there  on  the 
shores  of  the  blue  lake,  in  which  the  *' eternal  prison  of  the 
chainless  mind'*  mirrors  its  gray  towers,  Miinsterberg  must 
have  gained  a  foretaste  of  international  society  with  which 
he  was  destined  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted  later  in 
his  life.  In  an  album  of  the  kind  in  vogue  during  the  more 
sentimental  decades,  in  which  school  and  university  friends 
inscribed  lines  by  which  they  hoped  to  be  remembered,  a 
woman  medical  student,  rare  in  those  days,  wrote : 

Je  vous  souhaite  que  votre  desire  d^etre  utile  h  Phumanit^  par 
vos  oBuvres  litt^raires  et  scientifiques  soit  couronne  d^un  plain 
succ^;  et  je  serai  tr^  heureuse  si  jamais  je  rencontre  votre  nom 
parmi  les  celebrites.  Quant  h.  moi,  je  ne  cherche  pas  de  gloire, 
je  voudrais  seulement  pouvoir  soulager  les  soufifrances  de  mes 
malades  aux  lits  dequels  je  passerai  presque  tout  mon  temps. 

Geneve  1882  Mina  Lapine  (stud,  med.) 


The  spirit  of  French  literature  took  hold  of  the  young 
Miinsterberg  so  firmly  that  he  ventured  to  translate  into 
verse  of  his  own  tongue  long  narrative  poems  by  Francois 
Copee  and  Sully  Prudhomme.  Two  of  these  translations 
were  first  published  in  a  magazine  for  foreign  literature 

20 


STUDENT  YEARS 

and  afterward  included  in  a  volume  of  verse  published  more 
than  a  dozen  years  later. 

At  the  close  of  the  summer  semester— during  which  the 
young  man,  no  doubt,  did  not  overburden  himself  with 
work,  but  read,  listened  to  general  lectures,  and  broadened 
his  horizon— Hugo  was  joined  by  his  older  brother  Emil, 
and  together  the  two  brothers  journeyed  on  foot  through 
the  beautiful  mountain  region.  From  the  glories  of  the 
Chamony  valley  Miinsterberg  finally  descended  through 
the  Gotthard  and  visited  the  three  northern  Italian  cities- 
Milan,  Verona,  and  Bologna.  Little  did  he  realize  that  this 
first  visit  to  these  cities  was  destined  also  to  be  his  last  and 
that  his  wish  to  see  the  great  historic  centers  of  Italy 
would  remain  unfulfilled  because  circumstance  always  con- 
spired against  it;  only  fleeting  glimpses  of  Genoa  and 
Naples  were  vouchsafed  him  at  the  end  of  the  last  Euro- 
pean journey  of  his  life. 

When  the  happy  summer  was  over,  Miinsterberg  returned 
to  the  north  and  reached  Leipzig  at  the  end  of  September, 
1882,  to  begin  his  serious  vocational  studies.  Here  at 
Leipzig  it  may  be  said  that  Miinsterberg  enjoyed  his  stu- 
dent days  proper.  For  although  his  studies  both  at  Leip- 
zig and  at  Heidelberg  were  important  for  his  scholarly 
development,  yet  at  Heidelberg,  as  will  be  seen,  his  stu- 
dent life  was  distracted  by  another  preoccupation,  whereas 
at  Leipzig  he  plunged,  heart  and  soul,  into  that  unfettered, 
care-free,  glorious  life  of  exploration  in  the  luxuriant 
realms  of  thought  and  letters,  of  gay,  hearty  companion- 
ship,  of  joy  in  youth  and  enthusiasm  for  beauty,  of  high 
and  boundless  aspirations— that  life  that  comes  to  the 
ardent  university  man  only  once  and  never  again. 

For  Miinsterberg  *s  academic  career  the  influences  at 
Leipzig  were  most  significant.  He  had  originally  planned 
to  devote  his  studies  chiefly  to  social  psychology,  but 
changed  his  mind  and  decided  in  favor  of  medicine.    Ac- 

21 


"^ 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

cordingly  he  took  lecture  courses  with  such  medical  author- 
ities as  His,  Brunner,  Ludwig,  Kolbe,  Wiedeman,  and 
Henkel,  and  worked  in  the  medical  laboratories,  although 
he  found  time  also  for  general  lectures  on  various  topics 
outside  of  his  specialty.  But  in  the  summer  of  1883  Miin- 
sterberg  for  the  first  time  attended  the  lectures  of  Wilhelm 
Wundt,  the  father  of  modern  psychology. 

This  marked  the  turning  point  in  Miinsterb erg's  intel- 
lectual life :  from  now  on  he  pledged  himself  to  psychology. 
To  be  sure,  he  remained  faithful  to  his  medical  studies, 
planning  to  combine  psychology  and  medicine.  In  1883 
he  worked  in  the  laboratory  of  Professor  Wundt.  This 
laboratory  was  very  meagerly  equipped  compared  with  the 
psychological  laboratories  of  to-day,  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
the  leading  American  laboratories  would  have  had  their 
remarkable  development  if  their  directors  for  many  forma- 
tive and  significant  years  had  not  received  inspiration  and 
training  in  the  simple  workshop  from  the  pioneer  of  ex- 
perimental psychology.  A  fellow  student  in  the  laboratory 
was  a  young  American,  James  McKeen  Cattell,  who  was 
destined  to  become  Professor  of  Psychology  and  Director 
of  the  Psychological  Laboratory  in  Columbia  University. 

In  the  summer  of  1884  Miinsterberg  was  able  to  pass 
what  was  called  the  ''physikum'*  or  preliminary  examina- 
tion for  the  degree  of  M.D.  He  did  not  intend  to  take 
this  degree  at  Leipzig,  however,  but  to  work  for  the  philo- 
sophical doctor's  examination  in  psychology.  This  exam- 
ination he  passed  in  July,  1885;  his  chief  examiners  were 
the  scholars  Wundt,  Leukhardt,  and  Henkel.  The  doc- 
tor 's  dissertation  was  on  ' '  The  Doctrine  of  Natural  Adapta- 
tion.'' 

Miinsterberg  devoted  himself  to  his  studies  with  ardor 
and  diligence;  yet  these  happy  student  years  at  Leipzig, 
though  their  academic  content  formed  the  groundwork  for 
his  future  research,  by  no  means  monopolized  his  time  and 

22 


STUDENT  YEARS 

thought.    From  a  list  of  books  purchased  by  him  during 
his  student  days  that  is  recorded  in  an  account  book  of  that 
time,  the  wide  range  of  his  interests  is  apparent.    Not 
only  philosophical  and  scientific  works  attracted  him,  but 
new  appearances  on  the  literary  horizon.     In  the  theater, 
the  opera,  the  concert  hall,  Miinsterberg  sought  a  substan- 
tial part  of  his  education  and  no  small  part  of  his  pleasure. 
Neither  did  he  cease  literary  creation,  for  which  he  had 
shown  so  much  enthusiasm  during  his  schooldays,  but  found 
time  to  write  stories  and  poems.     His  interest  in  music  he 
kept  up  actively  by  playing  quartets  with  friends.    Leip- 
zig, which   Goethe   called   ^* Little   Paris,''   abounded  in 
stimuli  as  the  stronghold  of  booksellers,  the  possessor  of 
excellent  theater  companies  and  good  music.    The  profes- 
sors opened  their  houses  hospitably  to  their  students ;  young 
men  met  in  their  favorite  restaurants  for  evenings  of  jovial 
companionship.    All    these    distractions    Hugo    enjoyed 
wholeheartedly  and  remembered  in  later  life  as  only  happy 
student  days  are  remembered.  ^^ 

A  pamphlet  on  *^  Student  Duties  and  Student  Rights,  ' 
written  and  printed  in  1884,  shows  how  early  Munster- 
berg  began  to  extend  his  influence  from  his  own  theoretical 
sphere  of  interests  to  the  active  social  life  about  him. 

His  vacations  Hugo  spent  in  Danzig.  In  the  summer  of 
1885,  when  he  had  passed  his  Ph.D.  examination,  young 
Dr.  Miinsterberg  left  Leipzig  with  the  intention  of  con- 
tinuing his  studies  and  working  for  the  medical  degree  at 
the  ancient  University  of  Heidelberg.  Before  the  fall 
opening  of  the  semester,  Miinsterberg  traveled  to  Strass- 
burg  in  Alsace  to  attend  a  large  congress  of  naturalists 
that  promised  to  include  many  eminent  scientific  men.  In 
Strassburg  the  young  student  took  the  opportunity  to  re- 
new his  friendship  with  the  family  of  his  father's  cousin, 
Dr.  Oppler,  whom  he  had  not  seen  since  they  left  Danzig 
in  his  early  childhood.    With  these  relatives,  especially 

23 


if 


C?/ 


,/ 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


f 


with  their  daughter  Selma  with  whom  he  had  played  under 
the  lilacs  in  Danzig,  young  Miinsterberg  attended  the  bril- 
liant festivities  with  which  the  beautiful  city  welcomed 
the  scientists.  On  the  afternoon  of  September  27  he  went 
to  Heidelberg  to  devote  himself  once  more  to  serious  study. 
But  in  the  morning  of  the  next  day  he  had  changed  his 
mind  and  suddenly  appeared  again  in  Strassburg  and  in 
the  house  of  his  cousins.  On  the  afternoon  of  that  day  he 
was  engaged  to  Selma  Oppler.  That  he  did  not  return 
immediately  to  the  university  may  be  supposed.  Yet, 
when  by  the  middle  of  October  duty  called  to  the  not  far 
distant  Heidelberg,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  pro- 
spective weekly  visits  to  Strassburg,  and  a  year  later  to 
Weissenburg,  whither  the  family  of  his  fiancee  re- 
moved. 

At  Heidelberg  Miinsterberg  divided  his  attention  between 
biological  and  philosophical  studies.  The  celebrated  and 
exceedingly  popular  philosopher  Kuno  Fischer  was  then 
lecturing  at  the  University.  Other  prominent  scholars 
whose  lectures  Miinsterberg  attended  were  Erb,  Fiirstner, 
Czerny,  and  Kiihne.  Miinsterberg 's  experimental  work 
centered  chiefly  round  a  study  of  eye  estimate  under  the 
guidance  of  Professor  Haise;  the  result  of  these  experi- 
.  ments  formed  Miinsterberg 's  doctor's  thesis,  which  was 
later  included  in  his  volume  of  Beitrdge  zur  experiment 
tellen  Psychologie. 

In  Heidelberg  Miinsterberg  concentrated  upon  his  studies 
with  professional  seriousness.  His  social  life  was  restricted 
by  his  weekly  excursions  to  Alsace  and  the  attending  pre- 
occupation. His  chief  relaxation — strangely  unrelaxing  as 
such  strenuous  mental  exercise  may  seem — was  the  scholar  *s 
game  of  chess,  then  in  vogue  among  students.  Of  his 
friends  at  Heidelberg,  the  nearest  was  an  author  and  poet, 
Wolfgang  Alexander  von  Meyer-Waldeck,  a  brother  of  the 

24 


STUDENT  YEARS 

Meyer-Waldeck  who  later  became  Governor  of  Kiauchow 
in  China  and  in  the  World  War  was  captured  by  the 

Japanese. 

Years  spent  at  the  old  university  with  its  mediaeval 
buildings,  its  history  and  traditions,  in  the  idyllic  town  of 
Heidelberg,  one  of  the  most  enchanting  places  of  southern 
Germany,  could  not  fail  to  leave  a  deep  impress  on  a  beauty- 
loving  mind.  The  venerable  castle  ruin,  rising  from  the 
wooded  hill  and  overlooking  the  shining  river,  the  gentle 
forests,  the  quaint  angular  streets  and  squares,  the  cheerful 
gardens  and  ancient  walls,  ivy-overgrown— these  endear 
themselves  to  all  who  have  lived  and  thought  among  them. 
Of  this  town  the  poet  rightly  sang : 

Old  Heidelberg,  I  love  thee, 

Thou  town  of  honors  fine. 
Ah,  there  is  none  above  thee, 

By  Neckar  or  the  Rhina 

With  youth  in  pleasure  glowing, 

With  wisdom  blessed  and  wine! 
How  clear  thy  stream  is  flowing — 

Blue  eyes  like  sunlight  shine! 

And  when  rough  winter  leaves  thee, 
And  northward  turns  the  spring, 

A  bridal  gown  it  leaves  thee 
Of  blossoms  shimmering. 

Thy  name  is  written  clearly 

Upon  my  heart's  own  ground, 
And  Uke  a  bride's  so  dearly 

I  love  thy  name's  sweet  sound. 

When  cruel  thorns  shall  sting  me, 

And  dreary  grows  the  land, 
I'll  spur  my  horse  to  bring  me 

Back  unto  Neckar's  strand! 


25 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

During  Miinsterberg's  sojourn  there,  the  university  cele- 
brated with  splendid  festivities  the  fifth  centenary  of  its 
founding.  MUnsterberg  was  not  the  only  Harvard  phi- 
losopher who  drew  inspiration  from  this  ancient  seat  of 
learning:  for  among  the  old  towers  of  Heidelberg  Josiah 
Royce,  logician  and  metaphysician,  and  MUnsterberg 's  col- 
league at  Harvard,  imbibed  the  philosophy  that  left  unmis- 
takable traces  on  his  own. 

There  is  only  one  other  town  in  southern  Germany  that 
compares  in  picturesque  beauty  with  Heidelberg  or  even 
excels  it,  and  that  is  Freiburg  in  the  Black  Forest,  also  in 
what  was  then  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden. 

At  the  University  of  Freiburg  MUnsterberg  decided, 
after  ample  deliberation,  to  begin  his  university  career.  It 
was  the  custom  in  Germany  for  a  young  scholar  not  to 
wait,  as  in  the  American  college  system,  for  an  appointment 
as  instructor  with  a  small  salary,  but  to  ask  permission  to 
establish  himself  independently  at  any  university  and  give 
lectures  there.  He  was  then  called  a  ''Privaidocent"  or 
** private  lecturer''  and  received  no  salary — indeed  no  com- 
pensation whatever,  except  the  small  fee  that  every  student 
paid  for  attendance  at  his  lecture— until  sOme  university 
called  him  to  fill  a  vacant  professorship.  To  obtain  per- 
mission to  lecture  at  a  university,  an  examination  was  re- 
quired, besides  a  proof  of  capacity  for  original  creative 
work  in  the  form  of  a  thesis.  MUnsterberg 's  dissertation 
was  on  '*Will  Activity,  a  Contribution  to  Physiological 
Psychology.''  In  July,  1887,  he  passed  the  required  ex- 
amination at  Freiburg,  and  immediately  after  that  passed 
the  examination  for  the  medical  doctor's  degree  at  Heidel- 
berg. Equipped  with  both  the  M.D.  and  the  Ph.D.  he  had 
completed  his  university  studies. 

On  August  7, 1887,  Hugo  MUnsterberg  was  married  in  the 
little  town  in  the  Vosges,  Weissenburg,  and  after  an  exten- 
sive wedding  journey,  settled  at  Freiburg  to  begin  teaching. 

26 


STUDENT  YEARS 


^ 


Munsterberg's  lectures  were  chiefly  philosophical.    His 
first  course  was  on  philosophy  of  the  natural  sciences  and 
Schopenhauer;  later  he  lectured  on  psychology  education, 
and.  the  history  of  modern  philosophy.    A  so-ca  ed     pub-    , 
lie"  lecture  course,  that  is  a  course  open  to  all  students 
and  to  guests,  he  gave  on  "Custom  and  Morality.     ^  Prom 
this  field  of  contemplation  also  sprang  Miinsterberg  s  phi  - 
osophical  book   The  Origin  of  Morality.    Although  his 
teaching  from  the  lecture  platform  was  thus  mainly  along 
theoretfcal,   philosophical  lines  and  although  he  became 
more  and  more  absorbed  in  problems  of  eP^^'^f '  ^f 
at  the  same  time  he  was  carrying  on  psychological  labora- 
tory experiments.    Laboratory  equipment  for  psychologi- 
cal experiments  was  rare  in  universities  of  that  time  and 
Freiburg  had  none.    Therefore  Mii^terberg  fitted  out 
rooms  in  his  own  house  with  apparatus  and    urned    hem 
into  a  laboratory  where  students  worked  ;^>*;  the  ten^ 
eagerness  of  pioneers.    Young  psychological  ^tudente  from 
a?f  parts  of  the  country  and  from  foreign  countries,  too, 
were  attracted  to  this  work.  *i,„  ^t"^ 

Besides  lecturing,  experimenting,  and  guiding  the  ex-  \ 
periments  of  students,  Munsterberg  collaborated  in  the 
editing  of  a  philosophical  monthly,  contributed  to  a  medi- 
al ^cyclop«dia,  to  a  magazine  for  psychology,  and  wrote 
Ss  phLo?hical  and  psychological  books.    He  commun. 

cated  with  his  colleagues  at  ^^^'^.r^'^'-f  ;:VJwer 
revered  teacher  Wundt,  with  the  philosophers  Vaihinger 
Slin  and  Windelband,  one  of  the  foremost  idealists  of  the 
age  4ith  the  psychologists  Natorp,  Ebbinghaus,  Lipps,  the 
geoier  Gerland,  and  others.  His  friends  outside  of 
FreS  were  Max  Dessoir,  the  testhetician  and  psycholo- 
^fZ  L  philosopher,  Paul  Hensel  both  of  whom 
visited  him  in  America  in  later  years.  On  the  faculty  of 
Freiburg  University  were  several  P'^^'^ff  ^  f ^' ff!* 
among  tlem  the  zoologist  Weissmann,  the  botanist  Hilde- 

27 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


STUDENT  YEARS 


brand  and  the  mathematician  Liiroth ;  the  leading  philoso- 
pher, and  what  might  correspond  to  the  head  of  the  depart- 
ment in  an  American  university,  was  Professor  Alois 
Riehl.  Many  years  later,  in  the  winter  1913-1914,  Miin- 
sterberg  had  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  an  audience  in 
Emerson  Hall  at  Harvard,  Professor  Riehl,  who  came  as 
a  visitor  from  Berlin  University. 

During  these  early  years  at  Freiburg  one  influence  of 
supreme  importance  made  itself  felt :  that  was  the  intimate 
friendship  with  a  brilliant  philosopher  of  Miinsterberg's 
own  age,  even  a  native  of  his  own  city  Danzig — Heinrich 
Rickert.  For  leisurely  contemplative  intercourse  Freiburg 
was  ideal.  The  two  young  philosophers  used  to  leave  be- 
hind them  the  beautiful  town,  famous  for  its  exquisite 
Gothic  cathedral  with  the  spire  like  lacework,  its  mediaeval 
gates  and  gables,  and  its  cheerful  new  villas  at  the  out- 
skirts, to  walk  for  hours  over  hills  and  dales,  past  lakes  and 
hamlets,  through  the  enchanting  Black  Forest.  During 
these  walks  the  friends  gave  and  took  of  new  ideas  and 
spun  fine  epistomological  and  metaphysical  arguments. 
Both  were  decided  idealists  and  later  became  a  common 
target  for  the  attacks  of  positivists  and  pragmatists.  Yet 
there  were  shades  of  difference  in  the  theories  of  Rickert 
and  of  Miinsterberg,  and  this  made  an  unreserved  ex- 
change of  ideas  helpful  and  fruitful  for  both. 

Another  friend,  though  a  less  intimate  one,  was  Rickert  *s 
brother-in-law.  Dr.  Franz  Keibel,  a  distinguished  anatomist 
and  biologist,  who,  already  honored  by  St.  Andrew  Uni- 
versity in  Scotland,  in  the  year  1910  was  especially  invited 
by  President  Lowell  to  attend  the  opening  of  the  Harvard 
Medical  School  and  receive  an  honorary  LL.D. 

In  1891  Miinsterberg  was  appointed  what  may  be  called 
Assistant  Professor  at  Freiburg.  Through  his  original  ex- 
periments and  through  his  publications  he  had  become  well 
known,  had  aroused  the  attention  of  the  academic  world, 

28 


of  those  who  agreed  with  his  theories  and  those  who  dis- 
agreed, and  did  not  spare  those  sharp  criticisms  that  give 
zest  and  spice  to  scholarly  life  in  Europe.  His  reputation, 
as  will  be  seen,  extended  beyond  his  own  country,  even  be- 
yond the  ocean. 

Miinsterberg 's  sojourn  in  the  charming  Black  Forest 
town  was  broken  by  several  short  journeys,  mostly  visits 
to  relatives,  also  excursions  to  Switzerland,  to  Belgium,  and, 
in  1889,  to  Paris,  where  he  attended  the  first  international 
congress  of  psychologists.  There  he  met  and  made  experi- 
ments together  with  the  well  known  psychiatrist  Schrenck- 
Notzing.  But  far  more  important  was  his  meeting  there 
with  William  James,  the  great  Harvard  psychologist,  who 
was  to  shape  the  destiny  of  his  young  colleague.^ 

1  For  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chapter 
see  Appendix,  pages  303-307. 


.1 


CHAPTER  IV 

UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 
{1892—1895) 

Into  the  quiet  study  at  Freiburg,  through  the  murmur 
of  the  Black  Forest  pines,  floated  a  voice  from  across  the 
seas.  The  young  psychologist  had  sent  some  pamphlets 
of  his  Contributions  to  Experimental  Psychology  to  his 
colleague  at  Harvard  University,  William  James.  This  led 
to  lively  correspondence,  although  a  short  meeting  at  the 
congress  in  Paris  had  been  the  only  face-to-face  acquaint- 
ance that  destiny  had  granted  them.  A  young  student, 
moreover,  who  had  studied  under  James  at  Harvard,  en- 
tered the  laboratory  at  Freiburg  to  do  experimental  work 
with  Miinsterberg ;  this  student  was  Mr.  Delabarre,  now 
professor  at  Brown  University.  Regarding  him  William 
James  wrote  to  his  young,  as  yet  little  known,  colleague 
on  August,  1890 ; 

I  am  glad  you  can  put  him  at  some  muscular  sense  experiments, 
and  I  am  sure  he  will  find  it  a  most  inspiring  thing  to  work  with 
a  man  in  whose  hands  things  are  as  plastic  as  they  are  in  yours. 
If  one  has  not  a  natural  taste  for  experimenting,  the  habit  of  it 
must  be  formed  when  young,  and  kept  up  assiduously  ...  I 
naturally  hate  experimental  work  myself  and  all  my  circum- 
stances conspired  (during  the  important  years  of  my  Ufe)  to 
prevent  me  from  getting  into  a  routine  of  it,  so  that  now  it  is 
always  the  duty  that  gets  postponed.  There  are  plenty  of  others 
to  keep  my  time  as  fully  employed  as  my  working  powers  per- 
mit!— I  wish  that  you  could  have  stayed  longer  in  Paris;  it 
turned  out  very  agreeable.  But  I  am  truly  rejoiced  that  there 
is  some  prospect  of  your  paying  us  a  visit  here,  and  I  hope  it 
may  be  soon.  I  have  already  read  your  third  Heft  (pamphlet) 
with  avidity.  Unfortunately  it  reached  me  too  late  to  be  used  in 
the  appropriate  chapter  of  my  psychology  of  which  I  finished  the 
proofs  a  fortnight  ago.    The  same  is  true  of  your  Uttle  paper  on 

30 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

association,  which  I  received  just  a  fortnight  ago  in  the  Zeit- 
schrifh  and  which  entirely  knocks  the  bottom  out  from  under  a 
little  speculation  of  my  own  about  association-paths  m  the  brain 
I  mention  it  in  a  note,  but  could  not  otherwise  consider  it.    1 
must  say  that  you  seem  to  me  to  be  doing  more  to  open  out  new 
vistas  in  psychology  than  any  one  to-day,  and  your  fertility  m 
ideas  and  sagacity  in  making  distinctions  are  only  equaled  by 
the  promptitude  with  which  you  fall  to  work  at  them.    More- 
over you  handle  things  with  such  a  broad,  light  touch  m  writing 
about  them  that  it  is  a  constant  pleasure  to  read  what  you 
say      .  .  I  look  forward  with  great  eagerness  to  your  larger 
book     I'm  inclined  to  think  that  a  manual  of  psychology  must 
be  an  extraordinarily  difficult  task— all  existing  ones  have  such 
flagrant  defects.    The  truth  is  that  psychology  is  yet  seekmg 
her  first  principles,  and  is  in  the  condition  of  physics  before 
Galileo  or  Newton.     Nerve  physiology  has  some  laws,  even  of 
a  quasi  elementary  sort;  but  of  a  law  connecting  body  and  mmd, 
or  indeed  of  what  is  the  elementary  fact  of  mmd,  we  have  not 
at  present  even  the  beginning  of  a  hypothesis  which  is  valuable. 
Meanwhile  all  books  are  valuable  if  they  have  any  freshness  m 
them  at  all,  and  nothing  would  please  me  so  much  as  to  think 
that  you  could  find  any  suggestions  in  any  part  of  mine.     Of 
course  I  will  send  you  a  copy  when  it  appears  in  September. 
With  renewed  thanks  for  your  kind  letter,  believe  me 

Always  cordially  yours, 

Wm.  Jambs 

A  year  later,  when  the  young  psychologist's  theories 
had  been  attacked  by  an  older  professor  in  a  sharp  re- 
view, Miinsterberg  found  a  champion  across  the  sea.  In  a 
letter  of  *' consolation''  James  wrote  in  July,  1891: 

.  .  But  I  find  in  you  just  what  is  lacking  in  this  critique  of 
Mailer's,  a  sense  for  the  perspective  and  proportion  of  things. 
.  .  Whose  theories  in  psychology  have  any  definitive  value  to- 
day! No  one's!  Their  only  use  is  to  sharpen  further  reflection 
and  observation.  The  man  who  throws  out  most  new  ideas  and 
immediately  seeks  to  subject  them  to  experimental  control  is 
the  most  useful  psychologist  in  the  present  state  of  the  science. 
No  one  has  done  this  as  yet  as  well  as  you.  If  you  are  only 
flexible  towards  your  theories,  and  as  ingenious  m  testmg  them 

31 


HUGO  MUNSTBRBERG 

hereafter  as  you  have  been  hitherto,  I  will  back  you  to  beat  the 
whole  army  of  your  critics  before  you  are  forty  years  old.  .  .  . 


And  referring  to  a  temporary  ailment  of  Miinsterberg's 
about  which  he  had  heard  from  Mr.  Delabarre  who  had  re- 
turned from  Freiburg,  James  wrote  in  the  same  letter : 

What  a  wasteful  thing  is  nature,  to  produce  a  fellow  like  you, 
and  then  play  such  a  trick  with  him !  Bah !— But  I  prefer  to  think 
that  it  will  be  no  serious  impediment,  if  you  only  go  pianOf 
piano.  You  will  do  the  better  work  doubtless  for  doing  it  a  little 
more  slowly. — Not  long  ago  I  was  dining  with  some  old  gentlemen, 
and  one  of  them  asked  "What  is  the  best  assurance  a  man  can 
have  of  a  long  and  active  lifef"  He  was  a  doctor;  and  presently 
replied  to  his  own  question:  "To  be  entirely  broken  down  in 
health  before  one  is  35 !" — There  is  much  truth  in  it ;  and  though 
it  applies  more  to  nervous  than  to  other  diseases,  we  all  can  take 
our  comfort  in  it.  /  was  entirely  broken  down  before  I  was 
thirty. 

Yours  cordially, 

W.  James 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  such  letters  were  a  source  of 
delight  to  Miinsterberg  who  throughout  his  life  attached 
much  value  to  friendly  correspondence. 

Then  one  spring  day  came  a  letter,  written  in  Cam- 
bridge on  February  21,  1892,  which  turned  the  current  of 
Miinsterberg's  life.  The  destiny  with  which  this  letter 
was  pregnant  brought  to  him  treasures  of  experience,  of 
new  ideas  and  ideals,  a  wide  sphere  of  influence,  warm 
response,  honors,  fame  and  friends.  Of  all  this  he  had 
not  as  yet  the  faintest  surmise. 

But  now  the  young  scientist,  only  twenty-eight  years 
old,  guilelessly  sitting  among  his  books,  opened  the  letter 
with  the  foreign  stamp,  expecting  at  most  another  re- 
sponse to  one  of  his  publications  or  a  casual  letter  of 
friendly  intercourse,  inviting  exchange  of  ideas.     He  read : 

32 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

95  Irving  St. 
Cambridge,  Mass.    Feb.  21,  *92 

Dear  Dr.  Munsterbero,  .     .    ,  •  u* 

Is  it  conceivable  that  if  you  should  be  invited,  you  might 
a^ee  to  come  and  take  charge  of  the  Psychological  Laboratory 
aid  the  higher  instruction  in  that  subject  in  Harvard  University 
for  three  years  at  a  salary  of  say  3,000  dollars  (12,000  Marks)  t 

This  is  a  private  question  of  my  own,  and  not  an  mquiry  on 
the  part  of  our  University  authorities.  My  mmd  is  in  travail 
with  plans  for  regenerating  our  philosophical  department,  and 
the  importation  of  you  has  come  to  figure  amongst  the  hypotheti- 
cal elements  of  the  case.  I  cannot  of  course  go  on  with  the  com- 
binations till  I  know  whether  or  not  that  particular  feature  is  im- 
possible.    So  pray  tell  me.  .        ..     .      *        • 

The  situation  is  this:    We  are  the  best  university  m  America, 
and  we  must  lead  in  psychology.    I,  at  the  age  of  50,  disliking 
laboratory  work  naturally,  and  accustomed  to  teaeh  philosophy  at 
laree.  altho  I  could,  tant  hien  que  mal,  make  the  laboratory  run, 
yet  aln  certainly  not  the  kind  of  stuff  to  make  a  first-rate  director 
thereof.    We  could  get  younger  men  here  who  would  be  safe 
enough,  but  we  need  something  more  than  a  safe  man,  we  need  a 
man  of  genius  if  possible.    Meanwhile  there  is  no  additionaj 
money  at  the  disposal  of  our  philosophical  department,  and  it 
vou  were  to  come,  it  would  be  necessary  to  raise  money  for  three 
years  expressly  by  appealing  to  friends  of  the  cause     Such  a 
thing  might  possibly  succeed.    After  three  years  (if  it  did  suc- 
ceed) you  would  know  us,  we  should  know  you,  and  it  might  be 
possible  to  make  the  arrangement  permanent.    You  would  have 
to  contemplate,  in  deciding  to  accept  such  an  invitation,  the  pos- 
sibility of  going  back  to  Germany  after  an  experiment  of  three 
years     Of  course  we  should  hope  for  permanence.     Our  uni- 
versity  is  one  you  need  not  be  ashamed  of.    I  got  a  fund  of 
4,300  dollars  last  year  to  start  a  laboratory,  of  which  some  l,b00 
still  remains  unspent.    You  would  have  an  assistant  (or  two  it 
needful)  and  of  actual  teaching  would  not  be  called  to  do  more 
than  six  hours  a  week,  or  less. 

Once  more,  this  is  a  private  question  from  me  to  you,  and  you 
will  oblige  me  by  not  making  it  pubUc.  The  scheme  will  require 
miuch  labor  to  carry  it  into  effect,  and  I  cannot  begm  the  work 
at  aU   unless  I  have  something  definite  to   go  upon  on  your 

side. 

33 


ii 


■i  I 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

At  your  age  and  with  your  facility  I  am  sure  the  language 

won't  trouble  you  after  the  first  year. 

Faithfully  yours, 

Wm.  James 


To  a  man  of  youth  and  vigor  and  healthy  curiosity  not 
only  about  his  special  field,  but  the  great  world,  such  a 
letter    could    bring    nothing   but    joyful    surprise.     This 
invitation  from  the  senior  philosopher  whom  he  so  much 
admired  Mjiinsterberg   regarded  as   an  honor,    and   the 
suggested  enterprise  seemed  to  him  a  great   adventure. 
In  those  days  America  was  not  the  place  to  visit  by 
European  travelers  that  it  became  fifteen  years  later ;  in 
1892  the  Atlantic  Ocean  was  still  a  formidable  barrier, 
life  on  the  other  side  still  an  **  undiscovered  country  from 
whose  bourne''  few  travelers  returned,  and  those  who  did, 
with  tales  of  mythical  wealth  and  uncouth  customs.    The 
traveler's  blood  that  had  sent  his  father  to  England  and 
Portugal  at  a  time  when  such  journeys  were  unusual, 
now  stirred  in  Hugo's  veins  and  spurred  him  **westward- 
ho!"    The  warning   from   Professor   James   that   Miin- 
sterberg  would  have  to  *' contemplate,  in  deciding  to  ac- 
cept such  an  invitation,  the  possibility  of  going  back  to 
Germany  after  an  experiment  of  three  years"  was  by  no 
means  a  damper  on  the  young  philosopher's  enthusiasm, 
but  the  very  condition  of  his  being  able  to  undertake 
the  experiment  with  such  a  light  heart.    To  the  young 
scholar,  educated  as  he  had  been  for  an  academic  career 
in  his  own  country— a  career  highly  honored  by  the  com- 
munity, full  of  freedom,  opportunity  for  achievement  and 
many  social  pleasures— it  did  not  occur  that  he  might  give 
up  this  ambition  for  activities  on  some  remote  and  foreign 
shore.    But  such  an  opportunity  to  become  acquainted, 
through  daily  intercourse,  with  a  strange  people  and  new 
modes  of  thought,  was  altogether  welcome.    Above  all,  the 

34 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

prospect  of  working  in  a  finely  equipped  new  laboratory 
was  most  alluring  to  the  psychologist.  Miinsterberg  s 
young  wife,  herself  eager  to  see  the  new  world,  and  accus- 
tomed from  her  childhood  to  a  fairly  nomadic  life,  encour- 
aged  him  to  try  the  adventure.  There  was  then  no  obsta- 
cle in  the  way  of  three  years'  work  at  Harvard  and  so 
William  James  was  informed. 

On  receiving  the  affirmative  answer,  James  wrote  to 
the  young  psychologist  who  had  just  acquired  the  title  of 
Professor  at  Freiburg  University : 

95  Irving  Street 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
March  23,  '92 

Dear  Professor,  ,  .        i?  xi,„i.  ^^n 

First  let  me  congratulate  you  on  the  possession  of  that  well 

deserved  title,  and  then  let  me  say  that  I  am  extremely  glad  to 

hear  what  you  say  in  your  letter  of  the  7th  about  commg  here.    I 

feared  it  would  be  negative.  . 

I  can  well  understand  your  desire  to  have  so  important  a  mat^ 

ter  settled  at  the  earliest  possible  date.    But  we  must  all  have  a 

httle  patience.    The  plan,  as  I  explained  to  you  m  my  letter  is 

only  my  plan,  so  far. 

The  matter  has  not  hwn  brought'  in  any  shape  before  the 
"President  tad  FeUows"  (our  governing  body)  yet-it  is  merely 
a  dream  of  mine  in  which  I  ask  you  to  play  a  non-resistant  pwt, 
until  other  forces,  more  powerful  than  my  will,  come  wto  Pl^y- 
fpromise  you  that  as  soon  as  anything  is  definitively  decided,  I 
wiU  immetotely  let  you  know  by  telegraph  what  it  is.    It  seems 

to  me  incredible  that  with  your  Ge™»\»r*'°!»*f  vCr  H,SJ 
not  soon  be  master  of  English.    But  I  believe  ttat  Victor  Hu^ 
could  never  learn  English;  so,  whilst  hoping  for  the  best,  am 
prepared  for  the  worst!  ... 
Yes,  Cambridge  is  a  dear  place  to  live  in.  .  .  . 

Then  followed  a  cablegram  with  the  two  potent  words: 
-Alles  gelungen-  (Everything  settled)  and  Munster- 
berg's  cabled  reply.  On  April  13  James  ^o^°^f  ^^ 
colleague  by  letter  that  the  President  of  Harvard  had 

35 


ti' 


I* 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

written  from  California  that  Miinsterberg  was  to  be  in- 
vited to  Harvard  and  some  practical  details  connected  with 
the  invitation.  As  yet  nothing  had  been  done  officially. 
On  April  19,  1892,  James  wrote : 

95  Irving  St. 
Cambridqc,  Mass. 

April  19,  '92 
My  dear  MitNSTERBERG  (let  us  drop  titles  of  ceremony  hereafter) 

Your  letter  of  the  8th  reaches  me  this  morning  just  as 
I  am  about  to  write  to  you.  Our  treasurer,  Mr.  Hooper,  is  just 
back  from  Washington,  and  informs  me  that  your  appointment 
must  first  be  officially  voted  on  by  the  "Corporation"  of  the  Uni- 
versity which  meets  on  Monday  the  25th.  There  is  no  reason 
whatever  to  expect  any  obstacle  or  delay  after  this,  and  I  sin- 
cerely trust  that  your  reply  will  be  prompt  and  affirmative.  .  .  . 
I  think  you  ought  to  bind  yourself  for  three  years  at  least — of 
course  not  for  more;  though  my  own  hope  is  that  by  the  end  of 
that  time  you  will  have  become  an  enthusiastic  Yankee  and  have 
forgotten  your  mother  tongue!  Then  we  may  hope  to  keep  you 
for  a  longer  time. 

We  are  now  preparing  our  pamphlet  of  courses  to  be  given 
next  year.  Naturally  if  you  are  coming  we  wish  your  name  to 
figure  therein,  and  it  must  be  published  by  June  first.  You  see 
therefore  how  desirable  it  is  to  get  from  you  a  prompt  answer. 
I  will  telegraph  you  that  an  official  invitation  is  on  its  way  to 
you,  as  soon  as  the  Corporation  votes.  After  the  necessary  de- 
lay, you  will  then  please  telegraph  your  own  decision;  and  if  it 
be  affirmative  we  can  immediately  proceed  to  print  your  name. 

I  rather  advise  you  to  take  a  furnished  house  for  the  first  year. 
Pack  your  own  furniture  .  .  . 

I  advise  you  if  you  have  a  good  servant,  especially  a  good  cook, 
to  bring  her  with  you.  Our  servants  are  the  weakest  spot  of  our 
civilization — mostly  Irish,  ill-trained,  very  independent,  and  able 
to  ask  enormous  wages.  ...  On  the  other  hand,  our  housekeep- 
ing is  made  easy  by  a  number  of  mechanical  arrangements  which 
are  possibly  not  yet  so  common  in  Germany.  But  if  you  have 
two  faithful  servants,  bring  them  mit! 

Hoping  erelong  to  shake  you  by  the  hand,  I  am 

Always  truly  yours, 

Wm.  James 

36 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

After  James'  prophetic  letter,  the  formal  invitation 
from  Harvard  was  wired  across  the  sea  and  Miinster- 
berg's  acceptance  cabled  back.  James  wrote  a  letter  of 
joyful  exclamation,  and  then  another: 

95  Irving  St. 
Gambbidge,  Mass. 
May  15,  *92 

My  dear  Munsterbero,  . 

I  am  now  in  receipt  of  three  letters  from  you,  one  written 
iust  before,  the  other  just  after,  your  telegram  accepting  the 
place,  and  the  third  written  on  the  3  of  May  about  .  .  . 

I  have  laughed  most  heartily  at  your  psychological  description 
of  yourself  in  the  last  days  of  April,  for  I  know  just  what  the 
agonizing  feeling  of  indecision  is  before  one  makes  so  important 
a  venture.    I  believe  that  writing  that  letter  cleared  your  mind 
of  the  cobwebs,  and  enabled  you  to  say  "yes"  with  relative  ease! 
The  letter  will  remain  a  valuable  document  humam.    To  us  who 
Uve  here,  and  find  everythmg  tolerable  and  comf orteble,  the 
tragic  aspect  of  the  case  does  not  present  itself  so  vividly.    But 
your  fears  about  disappointing  us  by  not  picking  up  the  English 
soon  enough  I  beUeve  are  groundless.    The  German  bram  always 
manages,  in  a  couple  of  years,  to  get  along  with  a  foreign  tongue 
Even  if  you  should  keep  a  foreign  accent,  and  still  make  some 
mistakes,  I  think  (judging  by  aU  the  analogous  precedents  which 
we  have)  that  you  will  be  able  in  two  years  to  lecti^  with  com- 
parative  ease  to  yourself.    Agassiz,  who  came  here  from  Switzer- 
land at  about  your  age,  soon  became  a  most  effective  lecturer  the 
most    generally   popular   lecturer   we   ever   had.  .  .  .  1    tMnK 
YOU  had  better  dismiss  all  anxiety  on  that  score.    But,  m  fairness 
to  yourself,  I  think  it  would  be  well  that  you  should  give  during 
the  first  year  some  popular  lectures  in  your  own  tongue.  .  .  . 

Yours  fraternally, 

Wm.  James 

A  promised  visit  to  Freiburg  came  about  as  planned. 
Miinsterberg  and  his  wife  found  keen  happiness  in  wel- 
coming Professor  and  Mrs.  James  who  had  brought  such 
a  great  and  significant  adventure  into  their  lives.  They 
never  dreamed,  to  be  sure,  at  the  time  of  how  much  pith 

37 


i\ 


I 


HUGO  MTJNSTERBERG 

and  moment  this  adventure  was  to  be  in  shaping  their 
destiny.  Between  the  psychologists  cordial  relations 
sprang  up  naturally.  A  supper  party,  according  to  the 
fashion  of  the  day  and  place,  was  given  for  the  guests 
from  Harvard,  to  which  prominent  members  of  the  Uni- 
versity were  invited.  Moreover,  leisurely  conversation  in 
his  own  home  made  it  possible  for  Miinsterberg  to  be  set 
at  ease  about  many  problems  of  his  new  life  and  to  re- 
ceive the  benefit  of  James's  guidance  of  which  he  would 
unluckily  be  deprived  during  the  first  year  in  Cambridge. 
The  James  family  journeyed  southward  to  Switzerland. 
Not  content  with  the  Harvard  psychologist's  short  visit, 
Miinsterberg  paid  him  a  call  at  the  Lake  of  Lucerne  where 
the  mountains  echoed  lively  talk  of  the  Harvard  labora- 
tory and  life  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  Thereafter, 
conversation  had  to  be  resumed  by  letter.  On  August  24, 
1892  James  wrote: 

Pension  Cnichon 
Vers  ehez  le  Blanc  sur  Lausanne 

Aug.  24,  '92 

My  dear  Munsterberg — if  you  call  me  verehrter  Herr  Professor 
any  more,  I  shall  refuse  to  speak  to  you  when  we  meet,  and  send 
your  letter  back  unread !  ! — So  now  you  are  warned ! 

On  returning  yesterday  from  a  tramp  through  the  mountains 
...  I  got  your  letter,  and  your  card  from  the  steamer.  I  meant 
to  have  sent  you  a  card  of  adieu  which  you  should  have  received 
on  board,  but  I  let  the  date  pass  by  unperceived.  How  glad 
I  am  that  you  start  with  so  smooth  a  sea.    May  it  remain  so  to 

the  end! 

I  am  glad  you  got  my  letter  after  all.  .  .  .  When  you  get  this, 
you  will  be  housed  in  Sumner  Street,  and  I  can  only  hope  that 
the  shock  of  our  bad  streets  and  wooden  houses  will  not  be  too 
great.  Remember  that  the  first  weeks  are  always  the  lonely  and 
unnatural  ones,  and  that  when  work  begins,  your  whole  feeling 
towards  America  will  change.  I  hope  that  Miss  G.  will  take 
you  into  my  library  and  offer  you  the  use  of  any  books  there 
which  you  may  need.  You  will  have  a  terribly  hot  week  (we 
always  do)  the  first  week  in  September.    After  that  it  grows 

38 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

cooL    With  warmest  regards  and  best  wishes  from  both  of  us, 
to  both  of  you,  I  am  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^ 

Wm.  James 

In  the  meantime  Munsterberg  had  obtained  a  leave  of 
absence  for  three  years  from  the  Minister  of  Education  m 
Baden,  as  the  University  was  controlled  by  the  State 
Then  in  August,  1892,  Hugo  Munsterberg  and  his  yif e 
set  sail  on  the  S.  S.  Columbm  of  the  Hamburg-American 
Line  for  New  York,  the  city  of  mythical  repute.    In 
those  days  there  was  still  an  element  of  f  ^^'^^'^'^^^  » 
journey  to  America  and  much  glamour  about  an  ocean 
ioyage     None  of  Miinsterberg's  kin  had  ever  crossed  the 
Xtic,   except  his  younger  brother  Oskar,   who  had 
traveled  round  the  world  and,  since  he  was  famdiar  with 
New  York,  had  been  able  to  give  Hugo  some  advice  and 
adTresses,  including  that  of  a  banker  who  was  to  meet 
him  at  the  dock  and  help  him  with  his  practical  affairs 
So  it  happened  that  when  the  young  pair  landed  at 
Hoboken,  helpless  in  a  strange  continent,  u-f«^'  ^^  ^^^ 
the  new  language,  in  the  midst  of  the  uproar  <>«  t^e  dock 
there  was  nothing  for  them  to  do  but  to  ^tand  ^d  c^ 
out  the  name  of  the  gentleman  who  was  to  ^eet  them 
until  he  should  appear  and  identify  himself.    At  kst  Je 
came,  and  a  few  hours  later  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife 
were  driving  through  New  York,  marveling  at  the  d.y- 
scrapers  and  at  aU  things  new  and  strange  that  met  their 
eves     They   stayed  three  days   at  the  Plaza  Hotel  of 
that  time  and  drank  in  all  they  could  of  the  huge  be- 
wildering  city,  before  journeying  on  to  Boston  and  Cam- 

It  the  station  in  Boston,  ready  to  meet  them,  stood  an 
eminent  representative  of  Harvard,  no  one  less  than  the 
philosopher  Josiah  Royce,  who  when  Munsterberg  was 
still  at  Freiburg  and  in  lively  correspondence  with  WiUiam 

39 


»l 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

James,  had  also  sent  the  young  psychologist  a  warm  letter 
of  welcome. 

And  now,  at  the  station,  Professor  Royce  greeted  the 
newcomers  and  with  them  Dr.  Herbert  Nichols,  who  was 
to  be  Miinsterberg's  assistant  in  the  Harvard  laboratory. 
The  kindness  and  devoted  helpfulness  of  the  senior  phi- 
losopher immediately  won  the  young  psychologist's  heart, 
and  the  hand  extended  to  him  in  simple  cordiality  on 
Hugo's  arrival  became  his  guide  during  the  first  weeks  in 
Cambridge.  Guidance,  indeed,  was  necessary  during  thje 
first  weeks  of  bewilderment. 

The  Psychological  Laboratory,  however,  where  he  had 
direction  of  the  advanced  work,  Miinsterberg  found  im- 
mediately congenial.  He  worked  in  harmony  with  his 
assistant.  Dr.  Nichols  and,  in  spite  of  language  difficulties, 
felt  drawn  to  his  students  and  took  a  warm  interest  in 
them.  The  well  equipped  laboratory  in  the  old,  long 
since  demolished  Dane  Hall  where  he  could  work  out  his 
ideas  freely  was,  of  course,  a  constant  pleasure,  and  so  he 
wrote  to  Italy.    James  replied : 

16  Piazza  dell'  Indipendenzia 

Florence,  Nov.  24^  *92 

My  deab  Munsterberg, 

I  am  in  your  debt  for  two  letters  and  the  4th  part  of  your 
Beitrdge.  The  first  letter,  of  Oct.  9th,  was  a  fairly  encyclopaedic 
document,  with  its  Antrittsrede  and  list  of  subjects  for  possible 
investigation.  I  congratulate  you  heartily  on  the  fact  that  your 
English  goes  so  well.  If  you  composed  those  remarks  without 
assistance  or  correction,  it  shows  that  your  progress  has  been 
very  rapid,  and  that  you  have  nothing  to  fear,  for  there  are  no 
mistakes.  Nichols  in  fact  wrote  me  some  time  since  that  he 
thought  you  would  be  able  to  lecture  without  difficulty  in  six 
months.  Well,  I  am  delighted  to  find,  from  both  of  your  letters, 
how  well  the  University,  and  America  in  general,  seem  to  agree 
with  you.  Your  program  of  occupations  in  your  last  letter 
indicates  what  is  called  "a  full  Ufe."  The  excitement  of  novelty 
won't  last  forever,  so  keep  it  up  whilst  the  mood  continues !    Only 

40 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

I'm  afraid  that  by  spring  time  you  may  experience  a  sort  of 
fatigue  which  you  haven't  been  accustomed  to  feel  in  Germany. 
Overstimulation  and  depressive  reaction  are  the  great  evils  of 
our  otherwise  interesting  and  on  the  whole,  it  seems  to  me,  beauti- 
ful climate.  You  are  experiencing  one  great  exemption,  which  if 
you  stay  much  longer,  you  will  hardly  escape — I  mean  serving 
on  various  committees  of  the  faculty.  They  eat  the  very  soul 
out  of  one  with  their  tediousness  and  consumption  of  time.  Keep 
clear  of  them  and  of  the  faculty  as  long  as  you  can !  I  am  much 
pleased  that  you  and  Nichols  have  ^tablished  a  modus  vivendi 
which  is  cordial.  ... 

Your  Beitrdge  came  some  weeks  ago,  but  owing  to  occupation 
with  other  things,  I  did  n't  get  to  reading  them  till  a  few  days 
ago.  They  are  simply  charming;  and  I  don't  see  what  your 
worst  enemy  can  say,  except  with  reference  to  the  last  few  pages, 
which  seem  to  me  a  speculation  in  rather  too  simplified  a  form. 
If  your  record  of  Harvard  work  at  the  end  of  the  year  results 
in  a  volume  at  all  comparable  with  this,  it  will  be  magnificent. 

Good-by!    Pray  give  the  best  regards  of  both  of  us  to  your 

wife,  be  industrious  and  cheerful !,  and  believe  me  always  yours 

affectionately, 

Wm;  James 

The  difficulties  of  the  daily  life— the  somewhat  irritat- 
ing background  to  the  essential  work  which  the  newcomer 
thoroughly  enjoyed-^were  soon  removed  too.  The  board- 
inghouse  life  was  exchanged  for  the  adventures  of  house- 
keeping under  strange  conditions.  The  Miinsterbergs, 
whose  household  goods  had  been  left  in  Freiburg,  moved 
into  a  f-urnished  house,  hitherto  occupied  by  a  New  England 
clergyman.  Hugo,  who  by  natural  taste  and  education, 
had  been  accustomed  to  surroundings— not,  indeed,  of 
luxury,  but  of  artistic  appeal,  felt  himself  a  stranger  among 
the*  severe  furniture  and  pictures  and  the  sober  books  in 
locked  bookcases  in  the  Colonial  wooden  house.  Yet  the 
spirit  of  old  New  England  with  its  gravity  and  simplicity 
made  a  deep  impression  on  Miinsterberg,  and  it  was  the 
austere  yet  kindly  idealism  of  the  academic  community  in- 

41 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

stead  of  the  briskness  and  expanse  of  business  enterprises 
or  the  luxuries  of  wealth  and  fashion  that  formed  his  first, 
hence  his  most  lasting,  impression  of  American  life.  All 
the  mythical  conceptions  of  America's  sordid  materialism 
crumbled  before  the  actual  high  thinking  and  plain  liv- 
ing practiced  in  Cambridge. 

Miinsterberg  had  indeed  reached  Cambridge  in  the 
golden  age,  when  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  for  example, 
gathered  chosen  spirits  in  his  hospitable  old  house  on  the 
hill  in  ** Norton's  woods*' — now  long  since  cleared  and 
divided  into  lots  with  new  houses  of  concrete;  when  the 
sprightly  Kentuckian,  the  geologist  Nathaniel  Shaler,  the 
philosophers  Royce  and  Palmer  and,  after  his  return  from 
Europe,  James,  the  venerable  Greek  scholar  Goodwin,  the 
physiologist  Bowditch,  and  the  inimitable  President  of 
Harvard  himself,  entertained  companies  remarkably  har- 
monious, serious  and  genial  withal.  Miinsterberg,  not  yet 
thirty,  a  Professor  at  the  age  when  most  young  men  on  the 
faculties  of  American  colleges  are  assistants  or  at  most  in- 
structors, was  treated  by  his  older  colleagues  as  one  of  them 
and  he  and  his  young  wife  received  the  honors  usually  ac- 
corded an  older  generation. 

The  spirit  within  the  philosophical  department  was 
unique.  No  words  can  depict  it  better  than  those  of  Profes- 
sor George  Foot  Moore  which  he  spoke  in  remembrance 
twenty-five  years  later : 

Palmer  .  .  .  James,  Royce,  Miinsterberg,  and,  a  little  later, 
Santayana,  made  such  a  constellation  as  no  American  University 
has  seen  or  may  perhaps  see  again  in  our  time.  They 
were  men  of  widely  diverse  types;  fundamentally  different 
philosophies  and  opposite  ways  of  approaching  all  philosophical 
problems  were  represented  among  them.  It  was  no  "Harvard 
School,"  having  a  system  to  inoculate  the  minds  of  docile  pupils 
with,  but  so  many  vigorous  and  independent  thinkers,  fit  to 
inspire  students  to  thought  by  their  very  disagreements.  For  in 
fact  they  agreed  on  little  else  than  freedom  to  disagree,  and  in 

42 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

their  generous  admiration  and  affection  for  one  another.  Uniform- 
ity of  opinion  on  things  human  or  divine  they  had  no  wish  to  see 
among  themselves  or  in  their  pupils,  knowing  that  it  is  purchas- 
able only  by  renunciation  of  a  man's  right  to  think  for  himself, 
which  is  worth  more  to  him  than  even  the  possession  of  the  truth. 
Into  this  circle,  whose  senior  members  were  then  but  fifty  years 
of  age,  Munsterberg  came  in  1892,  a  man  of  twenty-nine,  beyond 
his  years  in  maturity  and  attainment,  yet  as  youthful  in  spirit 
as  the  oldest  of  them.  He  brought  to  Cambridge,  to  the  labora- 
tory where  James  had  introduced  new  methods  of  experimental 
psychology  a  thorough  training  in  both  phUosophy  and  physiol- 
ogy, brilliant  promise,  and  enthusiasm  for  the  nascent  science. 
To  have  enjoyed  the  fellowship,  the  esteem,  the  affection  of  such 
colleagues  was  the  greatest  distinction,  as  it  must  have  been 
the  greatest  satisfaction  of  his  life. 

The  cordiality  of  these  colleagues  extended  beyond  the 
academic  pale  into  the  social  life  of  the  harmonious  com- 
munity at  Cambridge.  George  Herbert  Pahner,  the  in- 
carnation  of  the  noblest  heritage  of  New  England  tra- 
ditions, who  was  destined  to  be  and  to  remain  to  the  end 
a  loyal  friend  of  Miinsterberg,  invited  the  newcomers  to  his 
idyllic  farmhouse  in  Boxford,  among  orchards  and  pine 
woods,  and  initiated  them  into  the  charms  of  New  Eng- 
land country  life. 

So  friendly  was  the  tone  among  the  philosophers  and 
so  simple  the  social  life  that  Professor  Royce  jocosely 
wrote  to  Miinsterberg,  whose  turn  it  was  to  entertain  stu- 
dents at  his  house  after  a  conference,  that  he  must  uphold 
the  noble  ideal  of  plain  living  and  high  thinking  and  warned 
him  lest  **ice  cream  or  salad,  or  any  such  pernicious  luxury 
should  creep  into  our  suppers."  The  fact  that  he  had 
allowed  a  little  bit  of  sherry  to  appear  at  his  conference 
meeting  he  excused,  saying  that  he  *' wanted  only  to  display 
my  dark  red  decanter." 

It  was  not,  however,  in  the  lighter  vein  that  intercourse 
with  Royce  was  most  characteristic.    When  mourning  came 

43 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

to  Miinsterberg 's  house  through  news  of  the  death  of  his 
wife's  father,  it  was  the  unaffected  kindness  of  Professor 
Royce,  his  warm  compassion,  that  brought  a  welcome  ray 
of  solace. 

A  community  from  which  sprang  such  genuine  helpful- 
ness could  not  long  seem  strange.  Soon  came  another  and 
severe  trial  for  the  young  philosopher  and  his  wife  when 
Miinsterberg  was  stricken  with  diphtheria.  For  the  young 
wife,  quarantined,  away  from  any  kin,  the  only  nurse  of 
her  dangerously  stricken  husband,  those  weeks  of  care  were 
severe  ones  in  spite  of  the  extraordinary  devotion,  gener- 
osity, and  helpfulness  of  the  physician,  Dr.  Walter  Wes- 
selhoeft.  During  this  time  the  Harvard  friends  stood  with 
earnest  inquiries  outside  of  the  windows  of  the  isolated 
house.  A  joint  letter  from  the  members  of  the  Psycholog- 
ical Seminary  reflects  the  spirit  of  that  time. 


Harvard  University 
Psychological  Laboratory 

Cambridge,  Mass. 
March  1,  1893 

Dear  Professor  Mijnsterberg  : 

The  Psychological  Seminary  meets  this  evening  for  the  first 
time  since  your  illness  was  announced  to  us.  As  we  begin  our 
evening  task,  our  thoughts  turn,  as  you  may  well  imagine,  to  you, 
and  we  miss  you  very  sadly.  Our  topic  this  evening,  as  you  may 
remember,  is  "The  Joyful  Emotions,"  and  it  seems  to  us,  under 
the  circumstances,  a  very  incongruous  one.  But  we  must  to  our 
task;  yet,  meanwhile,  our  first  act  this  evening  is  to  prepare 
this  word  of  hearty  greeting  to  you,  and  to  join  in  an  expression 
of  our  warmest  wishes  for  your  quick  and  complete  recovery, 
and  for  your  restoration  to  your  place  as  our  leader. 

Good  wishes  are  of  small  aid,  and  we  have  all  deeply  felt 
our  helplessness,  in  this  crisis,  to  be  of  service  to  you  in  any 
material  way.  But  what  we  can  give,  we  give  in  earnest.  It 
has  given  us  all  great  satisfaction  to  hear  news  of  your  con- 
valescence, and  we  look  forward  with  the  strongest  hopes  to  a 
speedy  deliverance  from  our  separation  from  you. 

44 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

Believe  us,  dear  Professor,  your  most  loyal  friends,  and  your 

sincere  wellwishers. 

JosuH  Royce 

Herbert  Nichols 

Edgar  Pierce 

Arthur  R.  T.  Wylie 

W.  E.  Parsons 

W.  T.  Bush 

Nariaki  Kozaki 

George  F.  Johnson 

Oliver  B.  Henshaw 

Arthur  H.  Pierce 

Wayne  P.  Smith 

John  Bigham 

Sympathy  came  also  from  the  absent  Harvard  psy- 
chologist, and,  at  the  time  of  Miinsterberg  ^s  convalescence, 
James  wrote: 

Florence,  April  13,  1893 

My  dear  MiJNSTERBERG, 

I  have  just  received  your  good  long  letter  of  the  27th  March, 
on  my  return  from  a  short  trip  in  the  country.  It  is  sad  to 
see  the  change  in  your  handwriting,  and  to  think  of  the  weeks 
during  which  you  will  still  be  below  par  in  strength  and  in  f  eelmg 
of  strength.  You  must  have  had  a  hellish  tune  of  it;  but  it 
will  end,  and  in  the  next  couple  of  months  no  one  will  expect 
great  achievements  from  you.  So  "take  things  easy!"  What  I 
should  like  to  know  is  where  you  caught  the  d— d  thing.  I'oor 
Mrs.  Munsterberg  too!  I  hope  that  by  this  time  she  has  rested 
from  her  fatigues,  but  she  must  have  had  some  pretty  distressful 

weeks 

Your  letter  is  full  of  the  most  interesting  matters  to  me, 
but  I  write  this  morning  only  with  reference  to  the  courses  for 

next  year You  really  must  not  hold  out  to  any  one  now  the 

hope  of  succeeding  you  in  1895.    You  can't  tell  how  you  may 
feel  about  staying  then,  if  the  Corporation  ask  you  to  do  so 
and  you  mustn't  complicate  your  decision  by  anything  which 
you  may  be  saying  now.    Leave  that  decision  as  free  and  open 
to  yourself  as  possible. 



45 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


Well!  May  good  health  now  attend  you  all,  and  serenity 
follow  in  its  train. 

Yours  always, 

Wm.  James 

James,  Royce,  and  Palmer,  the  senior  philosophers  of 
Harvard — all  three  so  diverse  in  style  and  temperament — 
were  joined  by  a  younger  star  in  the  constellation,  one  who 
differed  radically  from  the  other  stars  in  glory — one  to 
whom  nevertheless  Miinsterberg  felt  drawn  most  strongly. 
This  was  the  poet-philosopher,  George  Santayana.  A 
Spaniard  by  birth,  he  was  nevertheless  a  master  of  Eng- 
lish prose  style  and  an  exquisite  poet.  In  the  group  of 
Harvard  philosophers  he  represented  not  only  in  his 
scholarly  work  and  literary  output,  but  in  his  whole  man- 
ner of  living,  the  SBsthetic  side  of  philosophic  thought. 
For  Miinsterberg  aesthetic  contemplations  had  always  had 
a  strong  appeal  and  so  it  was  natural  that  Santayana  who, 
idolized  though  he  was  by  a  special  group  of  students, 
Mevertheless  appeared  to  most  men  strange  and  even  eccen- 
tric, should  have  been  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  young  col- 
league's house  and  found  there  a  free  outlet  for  his  gay 
wit  and  delicate  irony.  The  fact  that  Miinsterberg  was 
himself  in  leisure  hours  a  poet  and  always  a  profound 
lover  of  poetry  Jbecame  a  further  bond.  The  radical 
difference  between  the  philosophical  systems  of  the  two 
scholars — for  Santayana,  notwithstanding  all  his  preoc- 
cupation with  beauty  is  a  hard  realist — cast  no  shadow  on 
their  friendly  intercourse.  Some  years  later,  when  the 
question  arose  of  Santayana 's  advance  to  a  Professorship, 
it  was  Miinsterberg  who  pointed  out  to  the  President  the 
significance  for  Harvard  of  retaining  an  intellect  of  such 
individuality  and  keenness,  a  productive  scholar  who  could 
not  be  spared. 

In  the  spring  of  1893  Miinsterberg  was  restored  to  health 
and  able,  in  the  summer,  to  pay  a  short  visit  to  the  Chicago 

46 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

Exposition,  which  shall  be  mentioned  in  another  connec- 
tion. Rest  and  recreation  he  and  his  wife  found  at  the 
seashore.  In  Swampscott,  the  pretty  fisherman's  town  and 
summer  resort,  they  first  learned  to  love  the  North  Shore 
of  Massachusetts,  to  which  they  remained  faithful  through- 
out their  long  life  in  America. 

At  the  opening  of  the  new  academic  year,  in  the  autumn 
of  1893,  Miinsterberg  left  the  little  furnished  shelter  of 
the  first  year  and  moved  into  a  typical  Cambridge  house 
with  a  broad  yard,  on  Quincy  Street,  the  street  on  which 
only  the  President  and  professors  lived.  Opposite  this 
house  was  the  large,  old  residence  of  Mrs.  Louis  Agassiz, 
who  became  a  most  attentive  and  stimulating  neighbor, 
and  whose  friendship  was  highly  valued  and  always  grate- 
fully remembered.  Louis  Agassiz,  the  greatest  American 
naturalist,  who  had  left  his  native  land  to  bestow  the 
treasures  of  his  mind  and  the  fruits  of  his  toil  on  another 
country,  stood  for  a  noble  precedent  to  which  young  Miin- 
sterberg turned  with  special  interest ;  and  thus  the  cordial 
intercourse  with  Agassiz 's  widow  was  a  particular  source 
of  inspiration.  Another  bond  with  Mrs.  Agassiz  was  Miin- 
sterberg's  active  interest  in  the  scholarly  opportunities  for 
women,  and  so  he  admired  her  as  the  first  President  of 
Radcliffe  College,  then  called  the  Harvard  Annex. 

The  ampler  quarters  of  the  Quincy  Street  house  offered 
more  facilities  for  the  entertaining  in  which  Miinsterberg 
always  took  such  distinct  pleasure.  A  visit  from  the  great 
physicist  Helmholtz,  in  the  year  of  the  Chicago  Exposition, 
marked  the  first  of  a  long  stream  of  visits  of  eminent 
scholars  from  abroad  to  whom  Miinsterberg  presented  his 
Harvard  colleagues  in  his  own  house.  This  custom  he  con- 
tinued throughout  his  career  and  in  it  he  found  one 
of  the  chief  adornments  of  his  life  in  Cambridge. 

In  the  meantime  the  psychologist  felt  more  and  more 
at  home  in  his  laboratory.    He  had  the  confidence  of  his 

47 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

students  and  took  more  than  a  merely  academic  interest 
in  them.  Some  of  these  students  became  his  friends. 
lAmong  these  was  Arthur  Pierce  who  later  was  Professor 
at  Smith  college  and  whose  untimely  death  in  the  winter  of 
1914  brought  sorrow  to  his  former  teacher.  Another 
student,  Edwin  Holt,  later  assistant  in  the  laboratory, 
instructor,  and  finally  Professor  at  Harvard,  was  for  many 
years  a  family  friend.  In  the  first  winter  of  laboratory 
work,  William  James,  who  felt  his  responsibility  from 
a  distance,  wrote: 

16  Pa  deir  Indipendenza, 

Florence 
Jan.  7,  '93 

Mt  dear  Munsterberg, 

Your  welcome  letter  of  Dec.  23rd  arrived  yesterday,  and  all 
your  cordial  Gluckwiinsche  are  "reciprocated"  with  a  high  rate  of 
interest,  by  both  of  us.  Long  may  your  satisfaction  with  Cam- 
bridge last.  Royce  writes  me  that  you  are  considered  on  all  hands 
as  ''an  immense  success."  The  President  writes  "Miinsterberg 
is  doing  splendidly";  so,  since  the  organism  seems  so  perfectly 
adapted  to  its  environment,  all  that  is  needed  is  that  the  en- 
vironment should  continue  to  please  the  organism;  and  that 
I  privately  continue  to  hope,  will  be  the  case  even  after  the  three 
years'  contract  has  come  to  an  end.  In  other  words,  I  have 
been  speculating  all  along  on  the  possibility  that  your  three  years 
term  might  end  by  being  indefinitely  prolonged,  and  I  think  that 
any  very  anxious  canvassing  of  the  question  "who  shall  be  M^s 
successor  t"  is  certainly  not  called  for  at  the  present  time. 

The  first  academic  year  passed  in  the  intimacy  of  the 
laboratory  walls,  and  Miinsterberg  did  not  yet  trust  his 
English  enough  to  lecture  in  it.  In  February,  1894,  how- 
ever, at  the  opening  of  the  second  academic  half-year,  he 
gave  his  first  English  lecture  at  Radcliffe  College.  Here 
the  chronicler  must  pause  and  look  ahead  with  sorrow. 
To  those  who  have  at  heart  the  scholarship  of  women,  it 
cannot  fail  to  be  a  precious  symbol  that  Hugo  Miinsterberg 

48 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 

gave  to  the  same  woman's  college  not  only  his  first  lecture 
held  in  America,  but  even  his  last — ^indeed,  his  very  last 
life  breath. 

In  order  to  leave  no  phase  of  academic  life  untried, 
Miinsterberg  taught  also  at  the  summer  school  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1894,  while  his  wife  preceded  him  to  the  Adiron- 
dacks,  to  the  eccentric  philosophic  camp  of  the  Scotchman 
Thomas  Davidson,  the  popular,  non-academic,  wandering 
philosopher. 

When  the  duties  of  summer  school  were  over,  Miinster- 
berg joined  his  wife.  She  had  been  having  some  trying 
experiences  in  the  ascetic  ** simple  life'*  required  by  David- 
son who  reigned,  an  absolute  despot,  over  the  inmates  of 
his  camp.  The  young  students,  some  of  them  from  the 
Harvard  laboratory,  lived  in  tents  in  the  woods,  the  ladies 
of  the  camp  resided  under  the  one  wooden  roof.  In  the 
dining  hall,  before  breakfast,  Davidson  read  aloud  from 
Confucius  and  exacted  absolute  attention.  Once  when  a 
baby,  which,  by  the  way,  belonged  to  Miinsterberg,  dared 
to  laugh  at  the  solemn  company  during  the  reading, 
Davidson  promptly  expelled  it  from  the  room. 

When  Miinsterberg  arrived,  he  took  his  wife  to  a  hotel 
where  she  could  enjoy  the  beautiful  primeval  forests  under 
less  rigorous  conditions,  and  he  himself  gave  a  series  of 
lectures  to  the  philosophers  assembled  in  the  woods.  The 
last  weeks  of  the  summer  were  again  spent  in  Swamp- 
scott.  There  Miinsterberg  passed  many  pleasant  hours 
with  the  psychologist  from  Princeton,  Mark  Baldwin,  and 

his  family. 

Now  Miinsterberg  lectured  not  only  in  the  class  room 
and  under  the  pine  trees  of  the  Adirondacks,  but,  after 
the  ice  had  once  been  broken,  he  began  to  speak  in  public. 
His  first  public  speech  in  English  was  in  1894  before  the 
Boston  Schoolmaster's  Club  in  a  debate  about  the  place  of 
psychology  in  education,  with  Professor  Stanley  Hall,  who 

49 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


UNDER  THE  HARVARD  ELMS 


later  became  President  of  Clark  University  at  Worcester, 
Massachusetts.  In  Cambridge  Miinsterberg  gave  a  lecture 
with  demonstrations  on  optical  plasticity ;  he  spoke  to  the 
eager  Radcliffe  Philosophical  Club,  and  thus  gradually  he 
acquired  the  ease  that,  a  few  years  later,  he  mastered,  of 
adjusting  himself  to  a  variety  of  audiences. 

As  early  as  the  winter  of  1893  Miinsterberg  had  attended 
the  Psychological  Congress  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  had 
met  Stanley  Hall,  a  year  before  the  above  mentioned  de- 
bate. In  the  summer  of  1893  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife 
enjoyed  the  Chicago  World's  Fair,  which  was  attracting 
the  curious  from  far  and  wide,  as  the  first  exposition  of 
the  new  world.  It  was  there  that  Miinsterberg  for  the  first 
time  met  Carl  Schurz  whom  he  greatly  admired. 

In  his  three  years  of  American  experience,  Miinster- 
berg was  eager  to  see  as  much  as  possible  of  the  country. 
During  the  first  winter  he  and  his  wife  received  a  last- 
ing impression  of  Niagara  turned  into  a  cataract  of  ice. 
In  the  third  winter,  during  the  mid-year  examination 
period,  he  journeyed  through  Kansas  and  Nebraska  to 
California,  and  came  home  with  Indian  relics  and  oranges 
that  he  had  plucked. 

At  the  end  of  the  winter  1894-95,  Miinsterberg  found 
that  the  three  years  of  '* adventure''  in  America  were  by 
no  means  the  closed  episode  that  he  had  expected  them  to 
be.  Harvard  had  offered  him  a  permanent  Professorship 
and  was  willing  to  wait  two  years  for  his  decision.  Again 
he  experienced  the  qualms  that  attend  a  decision  of  mo- 
ment; and  the  two  years  of  grace  were  truly  needed. 

The  three  years  at  Harvard  had  indeed  been  happy. 
Except  for  two  dark  periods  of  illness — his  own  and  later 
his  wife's — the  years  had  been  filled  with  most  congenial 
work,  inspiring  colleagues,  interesting  students,  a  social 
life  that  appealed  to  him  with  its  quiet  grace  and  in  which 
he  felt  thoroughly  welcome.    The  fragmentary  impres- 

50 


sion  that  he  had  gained  of  western  cities  left  unslaked  his 
thirst  for  more  knowledge  of  the  great  country,  its  life 
and  thought  and  possibilities.  Above  all,  he  could  no 
longer  look  upon  this  country  with  the  objective  view  of 
a  wanderer,  for  it  had  already  won  his  heart.  The  desire 
that  was  to  be  one  of  the  mainsprings  of  his  life — ^to  bring 
this  country  and  his  own  closer  together — ^was  already 
clamoring  for  a  hearing ;  it  was  impossible  to  return  home 
calmly  as  from  a  visit  successfully  completed  to  be  stored 
away  among  pleasant  memories. 

In  May  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife  gave  a  farewell  re- 
ception, then  their  temporary  household  was  dissolved, 
and  soon  the  Hamburg- American  Line  steamer  Columbia 
carried  them  homeward.  After  a  three  years'  separation, 
Hugo  longed  to  go  back  to  his  own  land  and  his  brothers, 
and  yet  the  three  years  behind  him  were  more  than  a 
happy  past;  they  were  the  seed  of  a  future  full  of  great 
achievements,  innumerable  joys — and  ultimate  sorrow. 
But  of  this  he  had  no  surmise,  and  it  was  with  the  ardor 
of  happy  and  ambitious  youth  that  he  stood  on  the  deck  of 
the  steamer  and  gazed  back  at  the  majestic  outline  of  New 
York.^ 

1  For  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chapter 
see  Appendix,  page  308. 


CHAPTER  V 

BLACK  FOREST  INTBEILUDE  ] 
{1895—1897) 

Once  more  Hugo  Miinsterberg  found  himself  settled  in 
Freiburg  on  the  banks  of  the  Dreisam,  with  the  hemlocks 
of  the  Black  Forest  murmuring  near.  In  the  beautiful 
mediffival  university  building  •with  its  gray  courtyard  and 
its  gables,  he  lectured  on  ethics,  now  as  Professor  of  Phi- 
losophy. 

The  chief  beauty  of  these  two  years  in  Freiburg  was 
the  continuance  of  Miinsterberg 's  close  friendship  with  the 
brilliant  young  philosopher,  Heinrich  Rickert.  Through 
the  beautiful  mysterious  woods  the  two  young  scholars 
wandered  together,  and  for  hours  spun  intricate  philosophi- 
cal theories.  This  free  and  intimate  exchange  of  the  pro- 
foundest  ideas  with  his  friend  was  unique  in  Miinster- 
berg's  life,  for  with  his  other  colleagues,  except  on  the  de- 
bating  platform  or  in  print,  his  intercourse,  when  not  con- 
cerned with  actual  administrative  academic  problems,  was, 
for  the  most  part,  purely  social. 

The  dark  forests,  the  gentle  mountain  slopes,  and  peace- 
ful, flowering  valleys  made  a  fit  background  not  only  for 
serene  philosophic  thought,  but  for  the  freer  meditations  of 
the  poet.  Here  it  was  that  Munsterberg  found  his  old 
Muse  again  and  wrote  numerous  charming  poems,  some 
betraying  the  philosopher,  some  purely  lyric;  many  of 
them  were  in  melodious  blank  verse,  mostly  in  a  minor 
key,  others  followed  a  rigorous  pattern  of  rhythm  and 
rhyme.  A  few  of  these  poems  were  printed  in  the  maga- 
zine Jugend,  one  of  them  illustrated  by  his  wife ;  but  the 
greater  part,  including  a  few  written  in  America,  he 
kept  by  him  until  in  July,  1897,  shortly  before  he  left  Frei- 

52 


BLACK  FOREST  INTERLUDE 

burg,  a  graceful  little  volume  of  poems  appeared  under 
the  transparent  pseudonym  Hugo  Terberg.  In  this  little 
book  there  are  also  translations  from  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish—translations of  two  long  narrative  poems  by 
FranQois  Coppee,  which  he  had  made  in  his  student  days, 
and  one  of  Robert  Browning's  Andrea  del  Sarto.  At  this 
period  of  his  life,  Miinsterberg  again  found  pleasure  in 
playing  his  'cello  in  quartets.  In  this  art,  however,  he  never 
aspired  toward  any  achievement,  and  so,  in  the  following 
years,  as  other  interests  crowded  in  upon  him,  the  deep- 
voiced  instrument  of  his  youth  was  doomed  to  stand  in  a 
corner,  neglected.  But  he  did  not  cease  to  write  poetry, 
although  never  again  as  often  as  in  the  early  years  in  the 
Black  Forest.  It  is  a  pity  that  his  first  volume  of  verse, 
which  was  well  received  and  gave  more  than  passing  plea- 
sure to  its  readers,  was  not  followed  by  a  second. 

A  very  different  current  from  that  of  contemplative 
seclusion  and  the  joy  of  artistic  creation  ran  through 
Miinsterberg 's  two  years  at  Freiburg:  it  was  his  continued 
interest  in  things  American  and  his  spread  of  that  interest 
among  his  acquaintances  at  home. 

In  his  laboratory,  which  was  at  first  again  in  two  large, 
empty  rooms  of  his  dwelling,  Miinsterberg  joyfully  wel- 
comed a  considerable  number  of  American  and  English 
students.  One  was  Edwin  Holt,  who  had  followed  his 
Harvard  teacher  to  Freiburg  and  was  a  frequent  guest  in 
Munsterberg 's  house,  where  the  advanced  students,  scarcely 
younger  than  their  professor,  felt  much  at  ease,  brought 
and  found  congenial  spirits  and  good  cheer.  It  was  par- 
ticularly at  Carnival  time  which,  in  the  Catholic  state  of 
Baden,  waS  celebrated  with  full  southern  gaiety,  that  the 
youthf ulness  of  students  and  professor  alike  blossomed  out 
in  merry  abandon :  so  one  sunny  Carnival  afternoon  Miin- 
sterberg's  house  was  invaded  by  a  band  of  students  dressed 
as  babies  in  long  bright  coloured  dresses  who  sang  in 

53 


ii! 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

unison  a  sprightly  song  composed  for  the  occasion  in 
honour  of  their  delighted  teacher. 

Another  American  student  was  Miss  Ethel  D.  Puffer, 
a  singularly  gifted  student  whose  special  field  was  the 
psychology  of  beauty,  and  who  was  eager  to  make  experi- 
ments in  aesthetics  under  Miinsterberg's  guidance.  This 
was  the  time  in  America's  intellectual  history  when  her 
universities  were  drawing  inspiration  most  avidly  from 
the  European,  especially  the  German,  seats  of  learning. 

Besides  these  permanent  students,  there  were  other 
American  visitors  to  Freiburg  who  helped  to  remind  Miin- 
sterberg  that  his  three  years  in  America  could  never  re- 
main a  closed  episode.  One  November,  even,  there  were 
enough  Americans  in  Freiburg  to  make  possible  a  Thanks- 
giving party  given  in  their  honor  at  Miinsterberg  *s  house 
with  an  American  turkey  and  cranberry  sauce,  and  with 
the  American  flag  above  the  door. 

But  as  Miinsterberg  had  not  forgotten  his  friends  in 
America,  so  they  had  not  forgotten  him.  In  September, 
1896,  James  had  written  in  his  old  spontaneous  way: 

Auditorium  Hotel,  Chicago. 
September  2nd,  1896 

DBAR  MiJNSTERBERG: 

I  don^t  remember  whether  I  wrote  you  a  letter  at  the  end  of 
the  term  in  Cambridge.  I  am  afraid  I  may  not  have  done  so, 
because  I  was  as  usual  very  much  overworked  and  in  arrears  with 
everything.  I  have  not  had  much  rest  since,  having  been  starring 
about  the  country  giving  lectures  to  teachers  on  psychology, — 
some  at  Cambridge,  some  at  Buffalo,  one  at  Chautauqua,  and 
now  a  course  at  Chicago.  Fortunately  in  two  days  I  can  go  to 
the  Adirondacks  and  have  some  hygienic  vacation. 

I  have  just  had  a  few  words  about  the  Congress  from  Wads- 
worth,  Strong,  and  Baldwin.  Baldwin  speaks  of  having  met 
you  but  says  nothing  more  about  you.  A  Berlin  paper  has  been 
sent  me  with  a  letter  from  Munich,  which  said  that  the  "psycho- 
logical pope  of  the  old  world,  Wundt,  and  the  psychological  pope 
of  the  new  world,   James,   were  both  distinguished   by   their 

54 


BLACK  FOREST  INTERLUDE 

absence."    I  am  becoming  illustrious!    I  am  also  becoming  pos- 
sessed of  the  Chicago  spirit,  for  I  am  writing  letters  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life  by  dictating  to  a  stenographer.    I  hope  you 
sympathize. 

I  lunched  with  Loeb  yesterday,  who  seems  on  the  whole  well 
contented  here  and  who  (I  think  with  great  sincerity)  expressed 
the  opinion  that  he  thought  you  would  make  a  mistake  not  to 
return  to  this  country.     The  conditions  strike  him  as  so  much 
healthier  than  those  of  Germany ;  and  truly  enough,  going  around 
among  the  teachers  as  I  have  lately  done,  seeing  the  magnificent 
development  of  the  university  here  and  feeling  the  fermentation 
that  everywhere  exists  in  education,  one  cannot  doubt  that  learn- 
ing  has  a  great  future  in  America.     If  a  few  men  of  genius 
spring  up  in  the  next  generation,  fifty  years  will  see  us  perhaps 
in  the  very  first  rank. 

I  hope  you  enjoyed  and  profited  by  the  Congress.    I  extremely 
regret  not  having  been  there,  but  it  was — impossible.    I  have 
not  the  least  idea  how  many  pages  you  have  written  of  your 
magnum  opus,  but  I  sincerely  hope  you  have  not  experienced 
the  usual  disappointment  of  finding  that  to  plan  a  book  is  one 
thing  and  to  write  it  something  quite  different.    It  almost  always 
turns  out  so,  but  for  many  reasons  I  want  your  book  out  early. 

I  regret  to  say  that  my  brain  has  been  so  bad  that  after 
agreeing  to  review  Stout's  book  for  Mind  and  keeping  the  volumes 
two  months,  I  had  to  back  out  and  hand  the  job  over  to  Royce 
who  is  ready  for  everything  in  this  world  or  the  next.    He  seems 
in  splendid  condition  and  has  been  reading  and  writing  vigorously 
all  summer  in  Cambridge.    'Rtchener's  book  is  out,  but  I  have 
not  read  that  either.    I  am  just  beginning  to  read  a  Uttle  for 
my  Kant  course  next  winter.    You  see  my  "jammerliches"  con- 
dition more  or  less  continues,  but  I  did  get  on  to  some  new 
thoughts  in  my  seminary  last  year,  which  I  may  be  able  to  work 
out  and  which  give  me  some  small  consolation. 

.  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Your  old  house  has  a  tenant  at  last  and  looks  less  lonesome. 
The  poUtical  campaign  goes  on  admirably,— splendid  speeches 
and  documents  on  both  sides.  It  seems  difficult  to  doubt  of  the 
essential  soundness  of  people  where  such  a  serious  mass  of 
discussion,  pursued  on  the  whole  in  such  a  dignified  tone,  is  a 
regular  incident  of  life.  Of  course,  the  SUver  Party  must  be 
beaten,  but  they  have  much  that  is  ideal  on  their  side. 
Good-by,  dear  old  Miinsterberg.    Keep  in  good  health.    Write 

55 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


BLACK  FOREST  INTERLUDE 


like  a  steam  engine  through  next  winter  and  he  ready  to  resume 
your  old  place  a  year  from  now.  Cordialest  greetings  to  the 
"gnadige  Frau"  and  the  children,  who  havfe  probably  forgotten 
me,  and  best  wishes  to  yourself, 

from  yours  always 
truly 
Wm.  James 

With  the  advent  of  the  year  1897  the  time  drew  near  for 
Miinsterberg  to  make  the  momentous  decision  of  his  life. 
This  time  it  was  not  the  question  of  a  three  years*  adven- 
ture, but  the  turning  of  the  current  of  his  daily  work 
onto  American  soil.  Miinsterberg  loved  his  country;  he 
never  for  a  moment  consid*ered  leaving  it  in  the  spirit  of 
an  emigrant  who  seeks  his  happiness  in  another  land; 
neither  did  he  doubt  at  the  time  that  his  most  profound 
creative  work  should  be  dedicated  to  his  countrymen  and 
written  in  their  language  or  that  he  should  end  his  days  in 
the  land  of  his  fathers. 

Yet  he  did  not  have  the  heart  to  cut  off  forever  the  new 
and  already  dear  ties  that  drew  him  to  Harvard.  His 
opportunity  for  influence  there,  especially  the  direction  of 
the  excellent  laboratory  that  offered  him  unlimited  chance 
for  the  development  of  his  ideas  had  given  him  much 
happiness  at  the  beginning  and  promised  to  give  him 
more  and  more  satisfaction  in  years  to  come.  More- 
over, he  believed  that  by  including  the  intellectual  life  of 
two  countries  in  his  interest  and  affection,  he  would  not 
only  be  immeasurably  enriching  his  own  life,  but  expand- 
ing his  field  for  fruitful  work.  And  even  as  he  was  eager 
to  unite  both  countries  in  his  own  life  work,  so  he  hoped 
that  the  countries  would  be  united  by  bonds  of  intellectual 
understanding. 

On  January  14,  1897,  James  reminded  his  colleague  of 
the  impending  decision,  and  the  day  after  he  had  written, 
the  President  wrote : 

56 


Harvard  University, 
Cambridge,  January  15thy  1897 

Dear  Professor  Munsteeberg, 

We  shall  soon  be  arranging  our  philosophical  courses  for 
the  year  1897-98,  and  on  this  account  it  becomes  necessary  for 
me  to  ask  you  what  your  decision  is  with  regard  to  returning  to 
Harvard  University  next  September.  Your  salary  would  be 
$3,500  a  year  at  first,  rising  in  all  probability  after  five  years  of 
service  to  $4,000,  and  after  another  five  yeai^  to  $4,500.  This 
increase  of  salary  is  the  common  practice  of  the  Corporation, 
although  they  have  no  fixed  rule  on  the  subject.  Your  title  might 
be  your  present  title,  or  if  you  preferred  a  wider  field,  the  title 
could  doubtless  be  arranged  to  suit  you.  Professor  James  has  no 
particular  attachment  to  his  present  title,  and  the  field  is  entirely 
open.  You  may  feel  assured  that  your  return  is  desired  by  the 
Governing  Boards  of  the  University,  the  Faculty,  and  your 
immediate  colleagues  in  the  Department  of  Philosophy.  You 
would  be  in  every  sense  welcome  as  a  permanent  officer  of  the 
University,  and  I  believe  that  the  American  professors  of  psy- 
chology would  think  your  permanent  settlement  at  Harvard  a 
reenforcement  for  their  body. 

Since  you  left  Cambridge  there  has  been  no  important  change. 
Last  year  there  was  a  large  gain  of  students;  this  year  there  is 
a  small  gain;  but  still  a  gain.  The  Graduate  School  is  larger 
than  ever,  and  contains  a  fine  body  of  students.  The  laboratory 
which  you  established  has  been  kept  up  and  carried  on  in  a 
wholly  creditable  manner.  ...  So  far  as  I  know  there  are  no 
new  conditions  in  the  problem  which  is  before  you. 

I  understand  that  an  incomplete  proposition  from  Zurich 
has  interested  you.  Perhaps  the  necessity  of  arriving  at  a  con- 
clusion with  regard  to  your  return  to  us  will  enable  you  to  bring 
the  Zurich  offer  to  a  point.  Our  committee  on  Instruction  has 
already  gone  to  work  on  the  program  for  next  year;  but  there 
is  ample  time  for  the  interchange  of  letters  between  us,  and 
indeed  you  could  defer  your  final  decision  till  February  13th  if 
you  would  then  notify  me  of  it  by  cable. 

Please  commend  me  to  Mrs.  Miinsterberg's  kind  remembrance, 

and  believe  me  with  all  good  wishes 

Very  truly  yours, 
Charles  W.  Eliot 

The  proposition  from  Zurich  referred  to,  it  may  here  be 

57 


ill 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

explained,  was  a  unanimous  election  of  Miinsterberg  by 
the  faculty  of  the  University  at  Zurich,  Switzerland,  to 
fill  a  vacant  full  professorship.  The  Swiss  Government, 
however,  as  Miinsterberg  explained  in  his  reply  to  Presi- 
dent Eliot,  wished  **not  to  appoint  anybody  in  the  vacant 
place  on  account  of  economy/'  This  episode,  therefore, 
could  not  affect  Miinsterberg 's  decision  between  Freiburg 
and  Harvard. 

Glad  a»  Miinsterberg  was  to  follow  the  call  to  Harvard, 
he  could  not  make  up  his  mind  immediately  to  disrupt  his 
life  in  Freiburg  and  transplant  his  family  to  Cambridge. 
Therefore  he  wrote  to  the  President  that  he  should  like 
at  first  to  come  alone,  without  his  family,  and,  as  he  was 
unwilling  to  part  from  wife  and  children  for  a  whole  year, 
he  proposed  that  he  might  come  for  the  first  academic  half- 
year  and  compress  into  it  a  whole  year's  work.  To  this 
proposal,  however,  the  President  would  not  consent: 

Harvard  University, 
Cambbidqe,  March  3d,  1897 

Dear  Professor  Mtjnsterberg, 

Your  letter  of  February  2nd  reached  me  in  due  course  of 
mail,  and  has  been  carefully  considered  both  by  the  professors  of 
Philosophy  and  by  the  President  and  Fellows.  We  have  come 
to  the  unanimous  conclusion  that  it  is  not  in  the  interest  of  the 
University  to  accede  to  the  precise  proposal  which  your  letter 
contains, — ^that  is,  the  proposal  that  you  spend  only  the  first  half 
of  the  year  at  Cambridge  in  1897-98.  It  seems  to  us  that  the  last 
half  of  the  year  is  more  important  in  the  laboratory  than  the  first 
half,  and  that  the  department  really  needs  your  presence  during 
the  whole  year,  or  say  from  October  1st  to  June  1st. 

I  ought  also  to  say  to  you  frankly  that  the  University  will  not 
be  content  to  have  you  return  hither  without  "burning  your 
ships";  the  University  will  desire  that  you  return  with  the  in- 
tention to  remain  in  its  service,  just  as  any  American  accepts 
a  professorship  here  with  the  definite  intention  of  spending  his 
life  in  all  probability  at  Harvard.  I  do  not  mean  that  professors 
are  not  perfectly  free  to  accept  better  appointments  elsewhere 

58 


BLACK  FOREST  INTERLUDE 

if  such  are  offered  to  them— they  are  entirely  free  in  that  regard 
—but  in  accepting  a  professorship  which  is  not  limited  to  a  term 
of  years  the  incumbent  is  expected  to  have  the  present  intention 

to  remain. 

We  wish  now  to  put  the  Department  of  Philosophy  on  a 
definite  footing  with  a  good  promise  of  stability  for  several  years 
to  come,  and  we  should  very  much  like  to  include  you  in 
our  plan.  We  value  highly,  however,  the  element  of  stability 
and  continuity.  Given  this  element  of  fixed  intention  on  your 
part,  we  shall  be  glad  to  welcome  you  alone  for  service  next  year 
from  October  1st  to  June  1st;  but  we  should  of  course  greatly 
prefer  that  you  come  with  your  family,  making  a  visible  transfer 
to  this  country  of  your  household  and  your  household  goods. 

I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  that  you  have  had  any  return  of  nervous 
disorders.  Would  not  you  be  less  liable  to  such  attacks  if  you 
too  settled  down  upon  a  fixed  and  definite  course  of  life,  settling 
once  for  all  the  great  question  of  the  country  in  which  you  wiU 
pass  your  prime,  and  your  children  will  grow  up?  I  can  easily 
understand  that  to  have  such  an  important  question  open  for 
years  might  be  very  disturbing.  .      ,     j        * 

You  may  be  very  sure  that  all  your  colleagues  in  the  depart- 
ment and  in  the  Faculty  will  be  very  glad  to  have  you  decide  to 
cast  in  your  lot  with  them,  and  I  assure  you  that  I  shall  share 
their  satisfaction. 

On  account  of  the  shortness  of  the  time  which  now  remains 
before  the  issue  of  the  announcements  for  next  year  I  must  beg 
you  to  cable  a  Yes  or  a  No  as  soon  as  you  have  made  up  your 
mind  on  the  proposal  contained  m  this  letter.  You  can  use  as  an 
address,  "EUot,  Harvard  University,  Cambridge." 

Mrs.  Eliot  and  I  are  both  well,  and  send  our  best  wishes 
to  you  and  Mrs.  Miinsterberg. 

Believe  me,  with  great  regard. 

Very  truly  yours, 
Charles  W.  Eliot 

Previously  James,  whom  Miinsterberg  had  also  informed 
of  his  plan  had  written : 

Cambbidoe,  Mass.    Feb.  27,  1897 

My  deab  Munsterbebg:  ^ 

Ite  President's  letter  wiU  reach   you   simultaneously   with 

59 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


this,  and  I  am  sure  I  don't  know  exactly  what  he  is  going  to  say, 
though  probably  he  will  say  that  a  full  year's  service  is  indis- 
pensable; and  I  think  you  will  recognize  yourself  that  a  great 
institution  like  this  cannot  maintain  very  long  a  provisional  state 
of  things  in  its  laboratory,  because  in  the  sharp  rivalry  of  other 
institutions  rumors  get  around,  the  current  of  students  is 
diverted,  and  two  or  three  years  are  lost  in  wiping  out  the 
impressions.  I  hope  therefore  that  you  will  come  now  for  the 
entire  year,  whatever  your  decision  as  to  permanency  may  there- 
after be.  On  the  supposition  that  you  will  do  so,  I  wish  to  write 
a  word  about  the  courses.  ... 

I  need  not  say  how  much  we  are  all  hoping  for  a  favorable 
decision  from  you,  or  how  inferior  every  other  alternative  seems 
to  us  to  be.  But  I  recognize  the  momentousness  of  the  decision 
for  yourself,  and  can  sympathize  with  the  difficulty  that  you  may 
find  in  it.  I  am  excessively  sorry  to  learn  from  your  letter  to 
the  President  that  you  have  had  a  recurrence  of  your  malady. 
I  doubt  myself  whether  climatic  conditions  can  have  much  to  do 
with  such  things,  and  hope  that  you  will  outgrow  it  anywhere. 
Why  consider  that  it  should  weigh  against  America  rather  than 
against  Germany  in  your  final  choice,  since  you  have  had  it  as 
badly  at  Freiburg  as  in  Cambridge?  Pray  let  us  know  every- 
thing at  the  very  earliest  possible  moment,  and  believe  me,  with 

best  regards  to  Mrs.  M., 

Always  affectionately  your*, 

Wm.  James 

So  all  hesitation  had  to  be  thrown  to  the  winds,  and 
Miinsterberg  wired  his  **Yes.'' 

In  reply  he  received  the  cablegram: 


Welcome. 


Eliot 


Hugo  Miinsterberg 's  fate  was  decided,  and  in  September, 
1897,  he  and  his  wife  and  children  set  sail  for  the  new  life. 


CHAPTER  VI 

TAKING  ROOT 
{1897—1899) 

In  September,  1897,  Miinsterberg  and  his  family  arrived 
in    Cambridge   once  more  with   80  boxes   containing    a 
transplanted  household.     Once  established  in  a  house  on 
Harvard  Street  in  which,  to  be  sure,  they  stayed  only  one 
year,  it  was  not  difficult  to  fall  again  into  the  rhythm  of 
Cambridge   academi<5  life.    In   his   psychological  labora- 
tory Hugo  felt  immediately  at  home,  and  with  his  young 
assistant  there,  Robert  McDougall,  he  came  to  be  on  very 
friendly  terms.    In  the  second  year  Miinsterberg 's  lec- 
tures were  held  in  the  old  Massachusetts  Hall  before  a 
large  class.    His  smaller   classes   of   eager,   enthusiastic 
women  students  at  Radcliffe  he  enjoyed  no  less.    It  gave 
Miinsterberg  and  his  wife  especial  pleasure  to  open  their 
doors  not  only  to  colleagues,  but  to  graduate  students,  some 
of  whom  were  not  much  younger  than  their  hosts. 

Before  the  opening  of  the  second  academic  year,  Miin- 
sterberg moved  with  his  family  to  the  house  on  Ware 
Street  in  which  he  lived  tHl  the  end  of  his  life.  This  house 
lent  itself  picturesquely  to  entertaining,  and  was  at  the 
same  time  a  restful  home.  Along  the  walls  of  the  library, 
with  the  high,  frescoed  ceiling,  stood  the  solemn  company 
of  several  thousand  books  that  had  crossed  the  ocean  with 
their  owner.  A  short  flight  of  steps  led  upward  from  this 
wide,  dark  library  to  the  philosopher's  retreat— a  quaint, 
original  room  with  a  cheerful  brick  fireplace  and  chimney 
and  a  large  north  window  filling  nearly  the  space  of  a  whole 
wall.  This  room  was  study  and  studio  at  once.  There 
stood  the  great  oaken  desk  at  which,  until  the  days  of 
Emerson  Hall,  Miinsterberg  did  all  his  creative  work ;  here 

61 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

also  were  the  easles,  paintboxes,  and  palettes  of  his  wife, 
and  sketches  hung  on  the  spaces  of  the  walls  not  covered 
by  philosophical  books. 

The  beautifying  of  his  house  was  Miinsterberg's  dearest 
recreation.  Particularly  in  the  first  years  of  its  adorn- 
ment, he  scented  rare  antiques  in  town  and  brought  home 
now  a  Bokhara  rug,  now  an  old  carved  chair,  now  a 
fantastic  bronze  vase  or  a  Japanese  lacquer  screen  with 
designs  in  ivory  and  mother-of-pearl,  now  an  embroidered 
Mexican  priest's  robe  for  drapery,  or  an  old  Russian  samo- 
var; now  an  Indian  totem  or  a  Tiffany  lamp.  The  pur- 
chase of  paintings  by  artists  whom  he  knew  gave  him 
special  pleasure,  although  most  of  the  paintings  in  his 
house,  chiefly  landscapes  and  sea  pieces,  were  made  by 

his  wife. 

In  his  house  Miinsterberg  loved  to  gather  congenial 
spirits.  The  scholars  who  had  welcomed  him  into  their 
quietly  hospitable  houses  during  hi»  first  three  years  at 
Harvard  were  still  giving  grace  and  a  certain  inimitable 
dignity  to  the  social  life  of  Cambridge.  Professor  Shaler, 
the  Kentuckian,  and  his  brilliant,  handsome  wife  were  still 
extending  Southern  hospitality;  Professor  and  Mrs.  Picker- 
ing received  on  the  top  of  the  hill  where  the  Harvard 
Observatory  stood;  Professor  Farlowe,  the  botanist, 
gathered  stimulating  men  round  his  table.  It  was  a  joy 
to  meet  on  Shady  Hill,  in  Charles  Eliot  Norton's  low,  gray 
house  where  the  words  of  Dante  glowed  anew.  With  his 
colleagues  James,  Royce,  and  Palmer,  Miinsterberg  re- 
mained on  the  same  cordial  terms.  Warm  and  friendly  re- 
lations with  Professor  Kuno  Francke  were  developed ;  and 
valuable  intercourse  was  kept  up  with  such  scholars  as  the 
theologians  and  historians,  Toy,  Lyon,  Macvane,  the  philol- 
ogist, von  Jagemann,  and  the  economist,  Taussig. 

But  their  special  delight  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife  found 

62 


TAKING  ROOT 

in  gathering  under  their  roof  the  younger  men,  young 
instructors  and  advanced  students,  and  some  young  women 
distinguished  for  their  charm  and  intellectual   achieve- 
ments.   Among  these  the  most  intimate  friend  of  the  house 
was  Miss  Ethel  D.  Puffer  who  continued  the  work  in  aes- 
thetics she  had  begun  in  Freiburg  at  the  Harvard  Psycho- 
logical  Laboratory   with   Miinsterberg 's  instruction   and 
passed  a  brilliant  examination  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Philosophy.    In  Munsterberg's  early  years  at  Harvard  also 
began   his   cordial   relations   to   the   excellent   psycholo- 
gist, Mary  Whiton  Calkins,  in  whose  career  and  achieve- 
ments he  took  a  life-long  interest  and  for  whose  creative 
work  he  had  a  great  admiration,  as  will  be  shown  in  later 
chapters.    In  the  charming  New  England  parsonage  of 
Miss  Calkins'  parents  at  Newton,  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife 
spent  many  a  valuable  evening.    A  welcome  guest  of  the 
Cambridge  house  at  this  time  was  the  poet  Josephine  Pea- 
body  who  not  infrequently  met  there  her  future  husband, 
Professor  Lionel  Marks.     George  Santayana,  the  philos- 
opher-poet, who  had  appealed  so  strongly  to  Munsterberg 
during  his  first  three  years  at  Harvard,  and  who  was 
a  great  favorite  in  aBSthetic  circles  in  Cambridge,  was 
nowhere  more  welcome  than  at  the  house  of  the  psycholo- 
gist.   Other  young  friends  were  the  two  scholars  in  English, 
then  instructors  and  later  professors,  Fred  Norris  Robin- 
son and  William  Henry  Schofield.    Miinsterberg  and  his 
wife  delighted  in  giving  student  receptions.    One  such 
evening  remained  memorable  at  which  Miss  Puffer  read 
in  the  form  of  a  Platonic  dialogue  some  of  her  own  philos- 
ophic  thoughts,    and   George   Santayana   read   from   his 
beautiful  drama  Lucifer.    At  other  times  Josephine  Pea- 
body,  a  fairy  figure  in  the  dark  library,  read  her  own  poems 
with  great  sprightliness. 

Occasional  recreation  Miinsterberg  found  in  playing  the 

63 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

'cello  to  the  piano  accompaniment  of  a  young,  musical 
psychologist,  Dr.  Burnett. 

Meanwhile  Miinsterberg  was  identifying  his  interests 
more  and  more  with  those  of  the  University  he  was  serv- 
ing. He  was  eager  to  lay  at  Harvard's  feet  his  experience, 
which  his  peculiar  destiny  had  made  manifold  in  spite  of 
his  youth,  his  ideas  which  could  not  be  one-sided  because 
he  had  looked  at  problems  from  both  sides  of  the  ocean.  It 
was  just  at  this  time,  when  Miinsterberg  was  beginning  to 
feel  himself  an  organic  part  of  Harvard,  that  the  first 
temptation  came  to  establish  his  work  and  life  nearer 
home.  The  call  came  from  Oxford,  the  city  of  classic 
traditions,  the  Alma  Mater  of  the  great  torch  bearers 
of  English  thought  and  letters.  A  new  Readership,  which 
corresponds  to  a  Professorship  except  that  the  **  readers '*  in 
Oxford  are  appointed  by  election,  was  being  founded  in 
psychology  and  the  young  Harvard  psychologist  was  urged 
to  accept  the  nomination  for  that  post.  A  former  pupil, 
William  Gill,  who  had  studied  with  Miinsterberg  in  his 
laboratory  at  Freiburg,  sent  the  invitation.    Gill  wrote : 

You  would  be  much  nearer  to  Germany  and  might  find  Oxford 
a  pleasant  residence.    And  then  you  would  have  time  for  writing. 

Experimental  work  is  excluded  from  the  course  of  teach- 
ing. .  .  .  And  then,  if  I  may  say  something  personal,  .  .  .  your 
talent,  which  I  admire  exceedingly,  has  always  seemed  to  me  of 
a  much  wider  scope  than  experimentation.  I  have  regretted 
seeing  it  confined  within  those  limits.  It  has  seemed  to  me  that 
you  would  do  very  brilliant  work  in  other  branches  of  psychology. 
I  don^t  know  whether  an  article  of  yours  in  the  North  Atlantic 
Eeview  signifies  that  you  are  now  inclined  to  put  experimentation 
rather  in  the  background.  ...  I  am  not  an  elector  myself,  but 
knowing  what  the  field  is  hkely  to  be,  I  fpel  pretty  sure  that, 
if  you  should  apply,  you  would  be  elected;  especially  if  you 
did  not  attach  primary  importance  to  experimentation.  I  should 
be  very  glad  to  see  you  elected. 

64 


TAKING  ROOT 

Miinsterberg  was  not  insensitive  to  the  glamour  that 
hovers  round  the  name  of  Oxford.  Moreover,  the  circum- 
stance that  he  would  have  only  the  Channel  instead  of  a 
whole  ocean  between  himself  and  his  brothers  was  an  elo- 
quent incentive  in  favor  of  life  in  England  for  both  Miin- 
sterberg and  his  wife.  And  yet  he  had  a  presentiment  that 
in  Oxford,  steeped  as  it  is  in  its  own  peculiar  traditions, 
he  might  always  feel  a  stranger ;  whereas  at  Harvard,  out- 
growth though  it  is  of  the  English  college  system,  at  Har- 
vard with  its  hospitality  toward  Continental  European 
thought  and  methods,  he  was  already  feeling  at  one  with  its 
interests  and  aspirations.  Moreover  his  work,  his  col- 
leagues, the  life  at  Cambridge,  and  the  spirit  of  the  country 
were  congenial  to  him  and  he  felt  no  desire  to  exchange 
them  for  another  country  not  his  own.  Therefore  he  de- 
cided to  remain. 

That  Miinsterberg 's  devotion  to  Harvard  was  recognized 
and  his  service  esteemed  was  given  outward  expression  by 
the  raising  of  his  salary  and  the  prospect  of  an  additional 
raise  that  would  depend,  as  President  Eliot  put  it,  ''upon 
your  increasing  influence  at  the  University  and  among 
learned  men.''  The  President  added  further,  in  a  letter  of 
October  19,  1898:  **You  may  be  sure  that  this  action  on 
the  part  of  the  corporation  is  evidence  of  the  high  value 
which  they  set  upon  your  services  to  the  University.*' 

Content  with  his  decision  to  remain,  Miinsterberg  turned 
with  renewed  zest  to  his  academic  work,  which  now  was 
beginning  to  be  supplemented  by  some  of  those  outside 
activities  that  in  later  years  were  to  be  so  numerous.  These 
were  for  the  most  part,  however,  merely  within  extended 
fields  of  academic  interest. 

Although  he  was  probably  at  the  time  the  youngest  Pro- 
fessor at  Harvard,  Miinsterberg  was  made  President  of  the 
American  Psychological  Association.    As  the  presidential 

65 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

address  he  delivered  a  paper  on  Psychology  and  History. 
The  reputation  of  the  psychologist  was  fast  spreading  over 
the  country.  He  was  invited  to  cities  of  New  York  and  the 
Middle  West  to  discourse  on  psychological  and  philosophi- 
cal topics.  During  all  his  life  Miinsterberg  was  earnestly 
interested  in  problems  of  education,  and  for  leading  educa- 
tors who  had  contributed  to  their  field  he  had  a  profound 
respect.  His  friend  and  neighbor,  Alice  Freeman  Palmer, 
the  wife  of  his  colleague,  and  former  President  of  Wellesley 
College,  he  admired  as  a  pioneer  in  the  field  of  woman's 
education  in  the  United  States  and  as  an  ideal  administra- 
tor. With  special  delight,  therefore,  he  welcomed  an  oppor- 
tunity to  address  the  Harvard  Teachers'  Association  to- 
gether with  Mrs.  Palmer.  This  was  at  the  time  when  the 
question  of  what  part  psychology  was  to  play  in  the 
schools  was  very  much  debated.  Miinsterberg,  although  he 
did  not  ignore  the  value  that  the  study  of  psychology  had 
in  the  preparation  of  the  teacher,  was  opposed  to  the 
teacher's  deliberate  view  of  the  pupil  as  a  psychological 
subject,  rather  than  as  a  responsible  individual  in  whose 
soul  ideals  are  to  be  planted  and  whose  intellect  is  to  be  dis- 
ciplined for  the  better  pursuit  of  that  ideal.  Hence  it 
appeared  to  those  who  had  different  theories  at  the  time, 
that  Miinsterberg  minimized  the  importance  of  psychology 
in  education. 

Miinsterberg 's  interest  in  women's  colleges  he  manifested 
in  diverse  ways.  His  teaching  at  Radcliffe  was  far  more 
than  the  usual  routine.  He  took  a  strong  interest  in  the 
students  of  his  seminary  class,  some  of  whom  were  excep- 
tional— among  them  was  Miss  Bertha  Boody,  later  Dean 
of  Radcliffe  College — and  invited  them  to  his  house.  He 
also  enjoyed  his  visits  to  the  neighboring  college  of  Welles- 
ley,  where  Miss  Calkins  was  Professor  of  Philosophy  and 
Psychology.    It  was  in  the  early  years  at  Harvard,  when 

66 


TAKING  ROOT 

college  festivities  were  still  a  novelty  to  the  young  profes- 
sor, that  he  was  invited  to  the  commencement  exercises  of 
Smith  College.  The  charm  of  that  celebration  made  a  deep 
impression  on  him,  which,  in  after  years  he  remembered 
with  pleasure,  especially  the  ivy  oration  spoken  by  a  senior 
of  that  day.  Miss  Josephine  Daskam,  now  Josephine  Das- 
kam  Bacon,  the  well  known  writer. 

As  the  work  and  social  life  of  Harvard  and  Boston  be- 
came more  and  more  congenial  to  Miinsterberg  during  the 
academic  year,  so  the  beauty  of  the  New  England  land- 
scape appealed  to  him  during  the  long  summer  vacations. 
In  the  spring  of  1898  he  wandered  along  the  North  Shore 
between  Boston  and  Marblehead  in  search  of  a  summer 
dwelling,  and  found  at  Clifton  a  little  secluded  cottage  in 
the  midst  of  fields  and  orchards  which  he  felt  immediately 
would  be  the  ideal  for  his  wife  and  little  children  as  well 
as  a  fit  retreat  for  his  ** vacation  work."  In  that  same 
cottage,  in  later  years  enlarged  and  improved  by  himself, 
Miinsterberg  and  his  family  spent  every  summer  except 
those  in  which  they  traveled  abroad,  until  the  very  last. 

Vacation  for  Miinsterberg  did  not  mean  a  stopping  of 
work,  but  merely  a  ceasing  of  distracting  academic  and 
administrative  activities,  to  concentrate  upon  creative 
labor.  He  did  not  confine  himself  to  his  desk,  however, 
during  the  golden  summer  months  at  the  shore,  but  took 
his  books  and  papers  out  on  the  veranda  and  when  he 
looked  up  from  them,  let  his  eyes  wander  over  the  peaceful 
landscape.  His  recreation  he  found  in  sea  bathing  with  his 
children,  and  especially  in  long  solitary  walks,  during 
which,  however,  he  never  quite  dismissed  his  scholarly  prob- 
lems from  his  thoughts.  His  favorite  walk  was  along  the 
beach  that  stretched  out  from  Clifton  to  Swampscott,  a 
beautiful  broad  expanse  at  low  tide,  where  clouds  and  sun- 
set  tints  east  exquisite  reflections  on  the  glistening  sand 

67 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

as  the  tide  receded  and  where  the  great  surf  thundered  and 
little  white  caps  tumbled  in  sport.  Of  this  walk  he  never 
tired  and  he  came  to  be  a  familiar  figure  against  the  de- 
serted stretch  of  beach,  pacing  slowly,  in  deep  thought. 
Though  he  preferred  solitude  during  his  walks,  peopled  as 
it  was  with  a  throng  of  ideas,  he  was  nevertheless  a  gay 
companion  to  his  family.  The  landscape  painting  of  his 
wife  he  followed  with  critical  judgment  and  took  a  whole- 
souled  interest  in  his  children's  work  and  play.  While 
they  were  not  yet  in  their  teens,  he  read  to  them  history, 
poetry,  and  plays.  Many  quiet  summer  evenings  especially 
were  given  over  to  thrilling  historical  dramas. 

It  was  in  the  summer,  in  this  happy  sefclusion,  that  his 
imagination  once  more  peopled  the  sea  with  mermaids  and 
the  shore  with  legendary  folk,  such  as  he  had  known  in  his 
childhood.  In  the  summer  of  1898  he  wrote  a  play  in  verse, 
wrote  it  actually  on  the  beach,  to  the  rhythm  of  the  surf. 
The  setting  of  the  play  is  mediaeval  and  fantastic,  a  fairy- 
tale, but  the  theme,  symbolical  rather  than  allegorical,  be- 
trays the  philosopher  behind  the  poet. 

To  those  who  think  of  the  psychologist  as  one  who 
habitually  dissects  the  souls  of  his  fellow  men,  it  may  be 
said  that  in  his  private  life  Mlinsterberg,  though  always 
the  philosopher,  was  far  more  poet  than  scientist.  In 
friendly  intercourse  he  left  psychology  behind,  and  his  in- 
terpretation of  human  motives  often  bordered  on  the  ro- 
mantic.^ 


1  For  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chap- 
ter see  Appendix,  pages  308-316. 


CHAPTER  VII 

PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 
(October,  1899—1902) 

MuNSTERBERG  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Philosophical 
Department  at  Harvard.  This  office  exacted  many  labor- 
ious administrative  duties,  but  he  discharged  them  with 
energy  and  enthusiasm,  for  he  had  the  life  and  growth  of 
the  Department  much  at  heart.  The  work  of  the  Psycho- 
logical Laboratory  went  on  under  his  direction  in  the  rather 
inadequate  quarters  of  the  little  building  called  Dane  Hall, 
now  no  longer  in  existence.  Lectures  on  philosophy  and 
psychology  were  given  in  halls  in  the  Harvard  yard  that 
harbored  lectures  on  all  subjects.  More  and  more  the 
need  arose  for  philosophy  and  its  kindred  studies  to  have 
a  house  of  their  own.  No  one  was  more  eager  to  see  this 
desire  fulfilled  than  Miinsterberg,  who  together  with  the 
other  members  of  the  Philosophical  Department  began  in 
the  academic  year  1900-1901  to  arouse  interest  among  pos- 
sible donors  for  the  erection  of  a  house  devoted  to  philoso- 
phy. This  building,  to  his  mind,  was  to  be  not  merely  a 
convenient  shelter  for  various  professors  of  philosophy  and 
their  classes,  it  should  be  more— nothing  less  than  an  out- 
ward symbol  of  the  inner  unity  of  all  philosophical  studies. 
Gathered  under  one  roof,  the  logician  and  metaphysician, 
the  teachers  of  ethics  and  of  aesthetics  should  have  their 
quiet,  secluded  studies  as  well  as  lecture  rooms,  the  psy- 
chologist should  have  his  laboratory,  the  scholar  in  Christ- 
ian ethics  and  sociology  the  facilities  that  suited  his  needs ; 
and  each  and  all  should  feel  that,  however  diversified  their 
separate  pursuits,  they  were  nevertheless  all  servants  of 
Philosophy.    Professor  George  Herbert  Palmer  suggested 

69 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

that  this  house  commemorate  some  tradition  peculiar  to 
Harvard  and  New  England.  Who  other  than  the  Sage  of 
Concord,  whose  hundredth  birthday  was  near,  could  aptly 
characterize  the  New  England  tradition  and  give  an  appro- 
priate name  to  the  home  of  philosophy  at  Harvard !  So  he 
proposed  to  name  the  desired  building  R^ph  Waldo  Emer- 
son Hall. 

The  need  of  such  a  hall  was  expressed  in  a  letter  from 
Miinsterberg  as  Chairman  of  the  Philosophical  Depart- 
ment to  the  Visiting  Committee.    This  was  in  part: 


To  the  Visiting  Committee  of  the  Philosophical 
Division  in  Harvard  University 
Gentlemen  : 

The  philosophical  work  in  Harvard  has  in  the  last  twenty  years 
gone  through  an  inner  development  which  has  met  with  a  hearty 
response  alike  on  the  part  of  the  University  and  of  the  students. 
The  students  have  attended  the  courses  in  constantly  growing 
numbers,  the  Governing  Boards  have  provided  the  Division  amply 
with  new  teachers,  steadily  increasing  the  number  of  professors, 
instructors,  and  assistants.  The  outer  growth  of  the  Division  has 
corresponded  thus  most  fortunately  to  the  internal  development, 
by  an  harmonious  cooperation  of  the  administration,  the  teachers, 
and  the  students  of  the  University.  And  yet  there  remains  one 
other  factor  as  an  essential  condition  for  the  healthy  life  of  the 
department,  a  factor  which  cannot  be  provided  by  the  University 
itself  and  for  which  the  help  must  come  from  without.  Our 
work  needs  a  dignified  home  where  under  one  roof  all  the  varied 
philosophical  work  now  carried  on  at  Harvard  may  be  united. 
The  need  has  been  urgently  felt  for  many  years,  but  only  with 
the  recent  g^'owth  has  the  situation  become  intolerable.  It  is 
therefore  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  department  that  we  must 
ask  the  public  for  the  funds  to  build  at  Harvard  a  "School  of 
Philosophy,"  in  the  interest  of  the  students  and  of  the  teachers, 
in  the  interest  of  the  department  and  of  the  University,  in  the 
interest  of  culture  and  of  scholarship. 

The  present  work  of  the  Philosophical  Division  can  be  indicated 
by  a  few  figures.  ...  It  is  easy  of  course  at  once  to  say  that  the 
truth  of  a  metaphysical  thought  does  not  depend  upon  the  room 

70 


Oi 
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PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 

in  which  it  is  taught,  and  that  the  philosopher  is  not  like  a 
physicist  or  chemist  dependent  upon  outer  equipments.  But  this 
is  but  half  true  and  the  half  of  the  statement  which  is  false  is 
of  great  importance.  . 

The  dependence  upon  outer  conditions  is  perhaps  clearest  in 
the  case  of  psychology  which  has  been  for  the  last  twenty-five 
years  an  objective  science  with  all  the  paraphernalia  of  an  ex- 
perimental study:  the  psychologist  of  to-day  no  less  than  the 
physicist  needs  a  well  equipped  laboratory.  Harvard  has  given 
the  fullest  acknowledgment  to  this  modem  demand  and  has  spent 
large  sums  to  provide  the  university  with  the  instruments  of  an 
excellent  psychological  laboratory;  the  one  thing  which  we  miss 
is  room,  simply  elbowroom.  ... 

Thus  what  we  need  is  clear.    We  need  a  worthy  monumental 
building  at  a  quiet  central  spot  of  the  Harvard  yard,  ... 

Such  a  home  would  give  us  firstly  of  course  the  room  and  the 
external  opportunities  for  work  on  every  plane,  it  would  give  us 
also  the  dignity  and  the  repose,  the  unity  and  the  comradeship  of 
a  philosophical  academy.    It  would  give  us  the  inspiration  result- 
ing from  the  mutual  assistance  of  the  different  parts  of  philos- 
ophy, which  in  spite  of  their  apparent  separation  are  still  to-day 
parts  of  one  phUosophy  only.    All  this  would  benefit  the  students 
of  philosophy  themselves,  but  not  less  good  would  come  to  the 
University  as  a  whole.    The  specialization  of  our  age  has  brought 
it  about  that  in  the  organization  of  a  university  even  philosophy, 
or  rather,  each  of  the  philosophical  branches,  has  become  an  iso- 
lated study  coordinated  with  others.    The  average  student  looks 
to  psychology  as  to  physics  or  botany;  he  thinks  of  ethios  as  he 
thinks  of  economics  or  history;  he  hears  about  logic  as  coordi- 
nated  with  mathematics  and  so  on.    The  University  has  some- 
what  lost  sight  of  the  unity  of  all  philosophical  subjects  and  has 
above  all  forgotten  that  this  united  philosophy  is  more  than  one 
science  amon|  other  sciences,  that  it  is  indeed  the  central  science 
which  alone  has  the  power  to  give  inner  unity  to  the  whole  urn- 
versitv  work.    Every  year  our  universities  reward  our  most  ad- 
vanc  d  yolg  schol^  of  philology  and  history,  of  literature  and 
economics,  of  physics  and  chemistry,  of  mathematKJs  and  biology 
wUh  2  degree  of  Ph.D.,  that  is  of  Doctor  Philosophic,  sym- 
bolicaUy  thus  expressing  that  all  the  special  sciences  are  ulti- 
ma e?y  only  branches  of  philosophy,  but  the  truth  of  fs  symbol 
has  faded  away  from  the  consciousness  of  the  academic  com- 
munity.    AU  knowledge  appears  there  as  a  disconnected  mass  of 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

scattered  information  and  the  fact  that  they  all  have  once  been 
parts  of  philosophy,  till  one  after  the  other  has  been  dismissed 
from  the  mother  arms,  has  been  forgotten.  A  school  of  phil- 
osophy as  a  visible  unity  in  the  midst  of  the  yard  will  renew  this 
truth  and  thus  give  once  more  to  the  overwhelming  multitude  of 
intellectual  efforts  of  our  university  a  real  unity  and  inner  con- 
nection; the  external  connection  of  administration  will  be  reen- 
forced  by  the  inner  unity  of  logical  interdependence. 

•  •••.., 

The  beautiful  building  which  we  see  in  our  minds  should  not  be 
devoted  to  a  single  system  of  philosophy.  In  its  hall  we  hope  to 
see  as  greeting  for  every  student  the  busts  of  Plato  the  Idealist 
and  Aristotle  the  Realist,  of  Descartes  and  Spinoza,  of  Bacon 
and  Hobbes,  of  Locke  and  Hume  and  Berkeley,  of  Kant  and 
Fichte  and  Hegel,  of  Comte  and  Spencer,  of  Helmholtz  and  Dar- 
win. The  School  of  Philosophy  will  be  wide  open  to  all  serious 
thought  as  indeed  the  members  of  the  department  to-day  repre- 
sent the  most  various  opinions  and  convictions.  This  ought  never 
to  be  changed;  it  is  the  life-condition  of  true  philosophy.  Yet 
there  is  one  keynote  in  all  our  work:  a  serious,  critical,  lofty 
idealisni  which  forms  the  background  of  the  whole  department 
and  colors  our  teaching  from  the  elementary  introductions  to  the 
researches  of  our  candidates  for  the  doctor's  degree.  All  the 
public  utterances  which  have  come  from  the  department  in  recent 
years  are  filled  with  this  idealism,  in  spite  of  the  greatest  possible 
variety  of  special  subjects  and  special  modes  of  treatment.  Here 
belong  The  Will  to  Believe  and  the  Talks  to  Teachers  by  William 
James,  the  Noble  Lectures  and  the  Glory  of  the  Imperfect  by 
George  Palmer,  Poetry  and  Religion  by  George  Santayana,  The 
Principles  of  Psychology  and  Psychology  and  Life  by  Hugo 
Miinsterberg,  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question  by  Francis 
Peabody,  Educational  Aims  and  Educational  Values  by  Paul 
Hanus,  Shaftesbury  by  Benjamin  Hand,  the  Conception  of  God 
and  The  World  and  the  Individual  by  Josiah  Royce. 

We  have  sought  whose  name  might  give  symbolic  expression 
to  this  underlying  sentiment  of  idealism  and  might  thus  properly 
be  connected  with  the  whole  building.  It  cannot  be  a  technical 
philosopher.  Such  a  name  would  indicate  a  prejudice  for  a 
special  system  of  philosophy  while  we  want  above  all  freedom  of 
thought.  It  ought  to  be  an  American,  to  remind  the  young  genera- 
tion that  they  do  not  live  up  to  the  hopes  of  the  School  of  Phil- 
osophy if  they  simply  learn  thoughts  imported  from  other  parts  of 

72 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 

the  world  but  that  they  themselves  as  young  Americans  ought  to 
help  the  growth  of  philosophical  thought.  It  ought  to  be  a  Har- 
vard man — a  man  whose  memory  deserves  that  his  name  be  daily 
on  the  lips  of  our  students,  and  whose  character  and  whose  writing 
will  remain  a  fountain  of  inspiration.  Only  one  man  fulfills 
all  these  demands  perfectly:  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.  It  is  our 
wish  and  hope  that  the  new,  dignified,  beautiful  home  of  philos- 
ophy may  soon  rise  as  the  moral  and  intellectual  center  of  Har- 
vard University  and  that  over  its  doors  we  shall  see  the  name: 
Emerson  Hall— School  of  Philosophy. 

Respectfully  yours, 
Hugo  Munsterberg, 
Chairman  of  the  Philosophical  Division 

Harvard  University 
March  20,  190L 

The  reception  of  this  idea  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
response  of  two  colleagues.    Professor  Norton  wrote: 

Shady  Hill,  20  April,  1901 
Mt  dear  Professor  Munsterberg  : 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  sending  me  a  copy  of  the 
letter  of  the  Philosophical  Department  to  the  Visiting  Com- 
mittee. The  importance  of  the  Department  in  the  University, 
its  present  strength  and  success,  and  the  pressing  need  of  proper 
accomodation  for  it,  are  set  forth  in  the  letter  with  convincing 
force  and  ability. 

I  trust  that  the  desire  of  the  Department  will  speedily  be  ful- 
filled, and  that  an  Emerson  Hall  may  soon  be  added  to  the  great 
Halls  of  instruction  of  the  University,  and  be  dedicated  as  you  so 
excellently  suggest  on  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  Emerson's 

birthday. 

Quam  venerationem  illis  praeceptoribus  genens  humani  deoe- 

mu^,  a  quibus  tanti  boni  initia  fluxerent. 
These  words  of  Seneca's  which  I  happened  to  be  reading  to-day 

came  to  my  mind  as  I  read  your  paper. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

C.  E.  Norton 


78 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 


M 


Harvard  University 

Cambridge,  Mass. 
Nov.  15,  1901 

Mt  deab  Professor  Munsterberg: 

I  regret  to  say  that  I  have  a  long  standing  arrange- 
ment to  go  away  this  evening  at  seven  o'clock  to  spend  Sunday, 
and  must  miss  the  meeting  of  our  Department.  I  need  not  assure 
you  of  my  eager  sympathy  with  your  hopes.  It  is  a  daily  in- 
convenience and  regret  to  me  that  I  am  obliged  to  lecture  under 
conditions  unsuggestive  of  my  subject  and  its  ideals;  and  quite 
beyond  any  personal  concern  I  appreciate  the  significance  for 
the  study  of  Philosophy  which  such  a  building  as  you  propose 
would  give.  Pray  count  on  me  for  any  possible  cooperation  in 
the  undertaking. 

Cordially  yours, 
Francis  G.  Peabody 

The  plan  found  favor  with  Harvard's  President  and  Cor- 
poration, and  as  early  as  December,  1901,  President  Eliot 
wrote  to  Miinsterberg  that  he  might  ask  an  architect  if  he 
would  like  to  make  sketches  for  Emerson  Hall,  **on  the 
chance  of  the  Department 's  finding  money  to  build  it. ' ' 

Miinsterberg  spared  no  effort  to  insure  this  necessary 
condition  of  the  enterprise.  In  the  fall  of  1901  he  made  a 
speech  in  Boston  in  behalf  of  Emerson  Hall  and  this  speech 
fell  on  good  ground.  At  the  Harvard  Commencement  he 
addressed  the  Alumni  with  a  plea  for  his  darling  project. 
Professor  Palmer,  in  the  summer  of  1902,  made  a  speech  in 
the  interest  of  Emerson  Hall  at  the  dinner  of  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa,  and  this,  too,  promised  to  bear  good  fruit.  In  1902 
a  committee  with  George  R.  Dorr  as  Chairman  and  Richard 
H.  Dana,  Dr.  Richard  Cabot,  Joseph  Lee,  D.  Ward  and 
Reginald  C.  Robbins  undertook  active  work  in  stimulating 
and  gathering  subscriptions.  With  Mr.  Dorr,  Miinster- 
berg was  in  constant  communication ;  he  himself  composed 
a  circular  setting  forth  the  needs  of  and  plans  for  Emer- 
son Hall,  which  was  sent  to  the  Harvard  Alumni. 

Of  the  response  to  these  circulars,  of  the  committee's  de- 

74 


voted  work,  of  the  gradual  creation  of  Emerson  Hall,  ac- 
count shall  be  given  in  the  following  chapter. 

Although  psychology  was  housed  in  too  narrow  quarters, 
it  was  nevertheless  expanding  rapidly.  Miinsterberg,  as 
Director,  was  assisted  by  two  especially  gifted  and  devoted 
young  scholars.  Dr.  Holt  and  Dr.  Yerkes.  Both  were 
more  than  assistants :  they  were  young  friends,  not  only  in 
the  laboratory,  but  in  the  psychologist's  house.  Dr.  Yerkes 
became  an  expert  in  animal  psychology  and  later  super- 
vised the  laboratory  for  animal  psychology  in  Emerson 
HaU. 

That  the  Harvard  Psychological  laboratory  was  con- 
sidered one  of  the  first  in  the  land  was  proved  by  the 
frequency  with  which  Miinsterberg 's  advice  was  solicited 
both  here  and  abroad.  Professor  Cattell,  the  psychologist 
of  Columbia,  asked  Miinsterberg 's  cooperation  when  he 
started  the  Journal  of  Psychology  in  1898. 

From  England,  William  McDougall,  who  became  one 
of  the  greatest  psychologists  at  Oxford  and  is  at  the  time 
of  the  present  writing  Miinsterberg 's  successor  at  Har- 
vard, wrote  to  ask  his  **  advice  as  to  the  course  of  study 
that  I  should  follow  in  order  to  prepare  myself  to  be  a 
worker  and  teacher  in  experimental  psychology.  You  are, 
of  course,  aware  that  in  this  country  experimental  psychol- 
ogy is  in  a  very  backward  state,  that  we  have  but  very  few 
workers  and  very  inferior  laboratories.  I  am  anxious  to 
do  something  to  remove  this  reproach  from  us  and  mean 
to  devote  myself  to  the  advancement  of  this  branch  of 
science.  ..."  With  the  French  psychologist  Janet,  Miin- 
sterberg had  pleasant  relations,  as  will  be  shown  in  con- 
nection with  the  Congress  at  Paris.  But,  above  all,  Miin- 
sterberg enjoyed  the  friendship  of  his  colleagues  at  home. 
In  the  work  of  the  young  psychologist,  Arthur  Pierce,  and 
of  the  philosopher,  H.  Norman  Gardiner,  both  at  Smith 
College,  he  took  a  warm  interest,  and  especially  in  the  ca- 

75 


m 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

reer  of  the  distinguished  psychologist,  Mary  Whiton  Calkins. 
Miss  Calkins,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  anxious  to  study 
vith  Munsterberg  in  the  Harvard  laboratory.    Since  women 
at  that  time  were  not  admitted  to  any  department  of  Har- 
vard, according  to  the  decision  of  the  President  and  Fel- 
lows, she  had  been  invited  to  work  in  the  laboratory  as  a 
guest  of  the  University,  where  she  proved  herself  a  guest 
of  distinction.    When  Miss  Calkins  had  brilliantly  passed 
the  examinations  and  met  the  requirements,  the  Harvard 
department  recommended  her  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Philosophy,  and  Munsterberg,  as  her  champion,  tried  to 
secure  for  her  this  degree  which  was  denied  to  her  because 
she  was  a  woman.     His  efforts  failed,  however,  for  the  Cor- 
poration decided  in  the  negative.     There  remained  only  the 
possibility  that  Radcliffe  College,  as  the  women's  college 
equivalent  to  Harvard,  with  only  Harvard  instructors  on 
its  faculty,  should  confer  the  degree  of  philosophy  on  her 
who  had  won  it  within  the  Harvard  walls.    Not  until  May, 
1902,  when  three  other  women  had  also  passed  their  Doc- 
tor's examinations,  was  it  decided  that  the  Radcliffe  Ph.D. 
was  actually  the  form  of  the  Harvard  degree  for  women, 
and  Munsterberg  did  his  best  to  persuade  Mi,ss  Calkins, 
who  was  at  that  time  traveling  abroad,  to  accept  her  well 
.  earned  honor  in  this  form.     He  wrote:    **We  are  all  very 
anxious  that  you  do  so,  as  just  by  the  cooperation  of  you 
four  prominent  women  with  you  as  acknowledged  leader, 
the  new  degree  would  command  at  once  highest  respect  in 

the  whole  academic  world,  certainly  superior  to  the  

degree  or  similar  degrees.  It  will  be  the  Harvard  degree. 
...  Of  course  it  is  too  late  for  correspondence.  You 
must  cable  a  word  to  Radcliffe;  be  sure  and  cable:  ''YesT' 
Miss  Calkins,  however,  remained  firm  and  answered  **No'*; 
she  would  have  the  Harvard  degree  or  none  at  all ! 
With  Miinsterberg's  Harvard  colleagues  James,  Royce, 

76 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 

and  Palmer,  the  old  cordial  spirit  prevailed.  Here  is  a 
letter  from  James,  exiled  on  account  of  his  poor  health, 
from  the  academic  life  at  home. 

OucHY,  June  18,  1900. 

Dear  Munsterberg: 

...  I  continue  to  be  greatly  flattered  at  the  notion  of  your 
dedicating  your  new  volume  to  me.  My  "reputation"  needs 
all  the  contributions  it  can  get  from  benevolent  well-wishers, 
in  the  present  state  of  decay  of  my  organism.  I  feel  a  certain 
compunction,  however,  on  the  score  of  imperfect  sympathy  with 
some  of  your  theoretic  conclusions.  The  rule  in  dedications  is 
that  they  should  express  either  intellectual  indebtedness  or  in- 
dicate Geistesverwandtschaft;  yet,  as  it  turns  out,  there  is  hardly 
a  distinction  made  in  your  psychology  and  life,  of  which  I 
wouldn't  make  a  different  systematic  use  from  the  what  you  do. 
If,  as  I  suppose,  this  book  is  a  more  technical  statement  of  the 
theses  of  that  one,  it  may  find  in  me  one  of  its  worst  enemies! 
And  how  will  that  comport  with  the  dedication?  Can  I  then 
criticize  it  openly,  if  the  devil  tempts  me  so  to  do?  And  if  I 
do,  won't  you  feel  as  if  you  had  thrown  a  good  dedication  away? 
—pearls  before  swine,  etc.  ?  I  state  this  frankly,  because  now 
is  the  time  to  make  sure  there  shall  be  no  misunderstandings. 
For  my  own  part,  dear  M.,  I  am  as  much  pleased  by  your  desire 
to  dedicate  the  book  to  me,  as  I  should  be  by  the  dedication — 
for  the  most  precious  thing  about  it  is  the  manifestation  of  per- 
sonal regard.  Whether  the  more  intellectual  aspect  of  the  mat- 
ter ought  not,  however,  to  prevail,  is  a  thing  which  I  think  you 
ought  now  at  the  last  moment  to  reconsider,  and  possibly  to  con- 
clude not  to  carry  out  a  plan  made  many  years  ago  in  a  less 
evolved  state  of  the  cosmos,  merely  in  order  that  you  may  remain 
unerschiitterlich  conseqmnt.  You  see  my  main  object  is  to  set 
you  entirely  free  from  the  past,  and  to  have  you  act  in  the  light 
of  purely  present  conditions.  If  then,  as  a  new-born  resolve, 
you  still  think  me  to  be  the  worthiest  being  now  living  on  the 
surface  of  the  globe  for  the  honor  of  such  a  dedication,  in  spite 
of  the  unaccountable  hardening  of  my  heart  toward  many  of  your 
beliefs.  Heaven  knows  I  shall  be  gratified  enough.  But  I  shall 
not  be  in  any  way  made  miserable,  or  accuse  you  of  being  a 
promise-breaker,  if  on  opening  the  volume,  I  see  no  dedication, 
or  else  some  entirely  unknown  namfi!    Don't  write  anything  about 

77 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

this  now,  but  let  me  wait  to  see  what  I  shall  see!— when  the 
volume  comes  out.  It  will  be  a  riddle  and  communicate  a  zest  to 
life  In  any  case  I  hope  that  you  will  succeed  in  getting  the 
proofs  corrected  this  summer,  though  it  will  doubtless  be  hard 
work.     Shall  you  go  to  the  Paris  Congress?  .  ,     •     • 

I  much  enjoyed  reading  the  Atlantic  article.  I  think  it  is 
the  cleverest  thing  you  have  written  so  far,  and  the  English 
absolutely  idiomatic.  It  will  doubtless  have  a  great  effect.  It 
is  possible  to  interpret  it  as  a  document  in  favor  of  the  elective 
system:  If  a  curriculum  which  so  many  persons  condenm,  can 
produce  such  good  results  merely  because  it  is  well  taught,  why 
attribute  such  importance  to  the  curriculum?  Anything  will 
suffice,  if  only  the  teaching  be  in  good  hands— I  must  say  that  is 
largely  my  own  opinion. 

With  best  regards  from  both  of  us,  and  wishes  for  a  happy 
German  summer  to  you  all,  especially  to  the  girls, 

I  am  as  ever 

Affectionately  yours, 

Wm.  James 
Address:    Brown,  Shipley  &  Co.,  London,  S.  W.— we  are  un- 
certain for  the  next  fortnight. 

A  letter  from  Professor  Palmer,  as  a  response  to  a  sur- 
prise  on  his  birthday,  is  characteristic. 

11  Quincy  St. 
March  20 


Dear  Dr.  Munsterberg:  .  , 

...  I  was  so  overwhelmed  last  night  with  what  you  brought 
me  that  I  am  sure  I  did  not  adequately  express  my  sense  of 
gratitude  for  the  thought  and  labor  that  brought  it  all  about.  It 
must  have  been  an  enormous  task  to  communicate  so  suddenly 
with  all  my  graduate  students,  to  arrange  for  obtainmg  their 
photographs,  and  to  present  the  results  in  such  exquisite  fonn. 
Nothing  could  please  me  more.  And  I  am  especially  thankful 
that  no  gift  from  you,  my  colleagues,  was  attempted.  And  yet 
it  makes  me  sore  to  think  that  this  work  should  have  fallen  on 
you,  just  when  you  should  have  been  resting  yourself  after  the 
toils  undertaken  in  another  pubUc  interest.    If  I  did  not  know 

78 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 

how  natural  kindness  is  to  you  and  how  much  refreshment  you 
always  seem  to  derive  from  it  I  should  condemn  Mrs.  Palmer's 
exposure  of  my  advancing  years  as  a  cruel  mistake.  But  I  have 
no  heart  for  condemnation  after  so  much  enjoyment.  I  can  only 
feel  a  tightening  of  ties  that  always  have  been  dear  and  a  desire  to 
be  more  Uke  the  person  my  friends  generously  imagined  me  to  be. 
"You  flatter  me.    But  please  continue"  said  the  French  lady. 

So  I  will  say. 

Sincerely  and  gratefully  yours, 

G.  H.  Palmer 

It  was  less  than  a  year  later  that  news  came  from  Pro- 
fessor Palmer  at  Paris,  which  cast  a  shadow  not  only  on 
the  social  life  at  Cambridge,  but  on  a  wide  circle  outside— 
news  of  the  death  of  Alice  Freeman  Palmer.  As  enthusi- 
astic educator  and  pioneer  in  the  field  of  women's  collegiate 
education,  as  the  wise^  and  youthful  President  of  Wellesley 
College,  and  finally  as  the  devoted  companion  of  the  Har- 
vard philosopher,  she  had  been  greatly  beloved  and  was 
now  mourned  profoundly.  To  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife 
who  were  warm  friends  and  admirers  of  Mrs.  Palmer  her 
passing  meant  a  keen  loss. 

Intimately  bound  up  as  Miinsterberg  was  with  the  life 
of  Harvard,  he  was  nevertheless  not  a  '* Harvard  man''  in 
the  technical  sense,  as  he  had  spent  his  student  days  else- 
where. To  remedy  this  circumstance,  the  Corporation 
resolved  to  bestow  upon  him  an  honorary  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts,  to  make  him  a  '*son  of  the  house."  So  at  Com- 
mencement in  June,  1901,  he  received  this  courtesy  which 
set  upon  him  the  stamp  of  a  ** Harvard  man." 

Although  the  interests  of  scholarship  and  the  affairs  of 
Harvard  in  particular  absorbed  the  greater  part  of  Miins- 
terberg's  day,  his  sympathies  extended  beyond  the  aca- 
demic pale.  One  friendship  he  valued  especially  at  this 
time  and  drew  from  it  great  inspiration— friendship  with 

79 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

the  distinguished  and  public-spirited  lawyer  Frederic  Wil- 
liam Holls.  In  all  the  country  hardly  another  man  could 
have  been  found  who  had  had  direct  contact  with  so  many 
influential  men  in  America  and  Europe— including  the 
Pope  and  numerous  monarchs — as  Mr.  Holls,  who  could  not 
only  give  entertaining  accounts  of  such  meetings,  but  draw 
profit  from  them  for  the  common  good.  Balfour  wrote  to 
him  in  1899:  '*l  trust  that  the  new  German  Agreement 
will  greatly  strengthen  the  bonds  of  amity  between  the 
two  countries— an  object  which  I  regard  as  only  second  in 
importance  to  that  of  drawing  closer  the  English-speaking 
races  on  the  two  sides  of  the  Atlantic.'*  A  strong  hope 
for  a  cordial  alliance  of  the  three  Teutonic  nations— Eng- 
land, Germany,  and  the  United  States— Holls  shared  with 
Miinsterberg  who  was  destined  to  utter  this  hope  in  the 
last  year  of  his  life  under  the  darkest  possible  cloud,  long 
after  his  friend  had  been  laid  to  rest,  spared  the  anguish 
suffered  by  all  friends  of  international  amity. 

Miinsterberg  enjoyed  men  who  were  both  statesmen  and 
scholars,  at  once  men  of  letters  and  men  of  the  world.  Such 
a  man  was  Theodore  Roosevelt,  whose  friendship  Miinster- 
berg treasured  to  the  end  of  his  life.  The  beginning  of  this 
bond  was  made  in  1901,  when  Roosevelt  wrote  to  him  after 
having  read  the  Harvard  philosopher's  article  in  the 
Atlantic  Monthly  on  'Productive  Scholarship.'* 


THE  VICE  PRESIDENTS  CHAMBER 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Oyster  Bat,  N.  Y.,  May  7th,  1901 
Prof.  Hugo  Munsterberg, 
Harvard  University, 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
My  dear  Mr.  Munsterberg  : 

It  seems  to  me  that  your  Atlantic  Monthly  article  teaches 
the  most  needed  lesson  that  we  here  have  to  learn  in  matters  af- 
fecting the  student.    Now  that  you  have  pointed  out  the  facts,  they 

80 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 


seem  so  obvious  that  I  feel  as  though  I  must  have  realized  the  con- 
ditions before;  but  I  did  not.  I  have  always  felt  uncomfortable 
over  our  very  small  output  of  really  serious  scholarly  work,  but  I 
have  never  in  the  least  understood  where  the  trouble  lay — or  to 
speak  more  accurately,  I  felt  it,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to 
formulate  it  even  to  myself.  For  example,  I  had  never  appreci- 
ated the  absolute  need  of  an  utter  divorce  between  the  kind  of 
work  which  we  would  have  the  right  to  expect  from  teachers  of 
history  to  ordinary  classes  in  an  ordinary  college,  and  the  work 
which  we  ought  to  expect  from  a  serious  historian — a  man  who 
would  be  in  history  what  Lounsbury  is  in  old  English  poetry, 
who  ought  to  receive  an  appointment  in  a  university  mainly  be- 
cause of  the  likelihood  of  his  doing  the  kind  of  work  v,  jich  would 
add  to  the  sum  of  national  achievement. 

Perhaps  you  will  pardon  me  a  personal  reference.  There  is 
nothing  I  should  like  more  than  to  become  connected  with  a  uni- 
versity as  a  "docent,"  a  professor  of  history  who  would  deal  only 
with  graduate  students  who  had  a  serious  purpose,  and  who  would 
be  expected  in  addition  himself  to  do,  or  at  any  rate  to  try  to 
do,  serious  scholarly  work  of  a  type  which  should  go  on  the  shelves 
at  least  with  Charles  Henry  Lee  and  John  Fiske,  if  not  with 
Parkman  and  Motley.  Rut  I  should  not  want  to  go  into  mere 
history  teaching  with  an  ordinary  college  class,  for  I  would  feel 
that  such  work  stood  in  the  way  of,  instead  of  aiding  me  in  doing 
my  part  in  what  this  country  so  greatly  needfe,  what  you  have 
called  Productive  Scholarship. 

One  of  our  troubles  is  that  our  small  men  who  appreciate  our 
inferiority  on  these  points  compared  with  Germany  often  make 
the  mistake  of  copying  the  German  non-essentials,  to  their  own 
hurt,  because  they  believe  them  to  be  the  essentials.  For  instance, 
when  I  was  at  Harvard,  the  scientific  professors  believed  they 
were  living  up  to  the  German  standard  by  refusing  to  recog- 
nize the  possibility  of  doing  biological  work  save  by  studying  his- 
tology, or  at  the  utmost  the  lowest  and  most  minute  forms  of 
marine  life  through  a  microscope.  This  was  not  alone  in  Harvard. 
The  tendency  was  universal  in  our  colleges.  I  cannot  see  that 
any  great  good  was  done  by  this  course  to  the  cause  of  scientific 
thought  in  this  coimtry;  that  any  original  thinkers  and  workers 
were  produced;  while  on  the  other  hand  one  incidental  result  was 
absolutely  to  crush  out  the  old  school  of  faunal  naturalists — of 
men  like  Audubon.  So  much  has  this  been  the  case  that  Hart 
Merriam,  the  mammalogist  at  Washington,  tells  me  that  it  has 

81 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

been  hopeless  to  try  to  get  from  the  colleges  assistants  for  field 
work— the  average  unfortunate  student  who  has  taken  up  scien- 
tific work  in  the  colleges  having  bfeen  carefully  trained  not  to  do 
the  field  work  which  in  the  past  has  aided  in  producing  men  like 
Humboldt;  while  on  the  other  hand  once  he  had  graduated,  he 
found  no  possible  opening,  such  as  he  would  have  had  m  Germany, 
to  do  university  work  of  a  great  and  senous  type. 

In  a  republic  like  ours,  as  in  every  other  form  of  government, 
we  of  course  tend  to  have  the  defects  of  our  quahties,  and  one 
of  the  least  attractive  of  these  defects  is  our  tendency  to  produce 
an  immense  amount  of  good  second-rate  work  m^ead  of  the  first- 
rate  work  which  alone  has  permanent  value.  Whatever  remedy 
we  seek  to  apply,  we  shall  meet  with  plenty  of  difficulties,  and  I 
do  not  suppose  that  any  one  remedy  would  be  all  sufficient.  But  i 
do  most  firmly  believe  that  yours  is  the  best  diagnosis  that  has 
yet  appeared  of  the  conditions  that  tell  against  productive  schol- 
arship here,  and  that  you  have  pointed  out  the  remedy  that  would 

be  most  efficient.  ,^  .  .         i    «„ 

Do  you  ever  get  to  New  York?    If  so,  won^t  you  let  me  know 

so  that  I  may  have  you  spend  the  night  here?    There  is  so  much 

that  I  should  like  to  talk  over  with  you. 

Sincerely  yours, 
Theodore  Roosevelt 

It  is  significant  that  it  was  not  a  political  or  diplomatic 
problem  that  brought  the  statesman  and  the  scholar  to- 
gether,  but  a  common  belief  in  the  worth  of  the  highest  pos- 
sible intellectual  achievement.  Again,  it  was  under  the 
roof  of  an  academic  hall  that  Miinsterberg  first  met  Roose- 
velt, who  was  then  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 
This  was  on  the  occasion  of  Harvard  Commencement  m 
June,  1901,  when  Harvard  made  herself  Miinsterberg 's 
Alma  Mater  and  had  bestowed  the  honorary  LL.D.  degrees 
upon  the  great  Danish  physicist,  Van't  Hoff,  and  the  Ger- 
man Ambassador,  Theodor  von  HoUeben. 

A  prominent  interest  of  the  day  was  the  progress  of  plans 
for  the  Germanic  Museum  at  Harvard— plans  that  had  al- 
ready been  introduced  by  Professor  Francke  at  the  time  of 

82 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 


Baron  von  Holleben's  first  visit  to  Harvard  two  years  be- 
fore. The  University  was  now  ready  to  turn  the  old  Gym- 
nasium— ^used  at  the  time  by  the  Engineering  Department 
— into  a  temporary  museum  in  which  the  first  art  objects 
were  to  be  kept.  A  Germanic  Museum  Association  had 
been  formed,  with  Carl  Schurz  as  President,  and  as  one  of 
its  Vice-Presidents  Gustav  von  Bezold,  Director  of  the 
Germanic  Museum  in  Niiremberg,  which  was  a  model  for 
the  Harvard  Museum.  The  national  scope  of  the  Asso- 
ciation is  shown  by  the  names  of  the  other  Vice-Presidents, 
among  whom  were  Vice-President  Roosevelt,  Ambassador 
Andrew  D.  White  at  Berlin,  the  poet  Charles  Godfrey 
Leland  who  resided  in  Italy,  and  professors  from  Colum- 
bia, Leland  Stanford,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  of 
Wisconsin,  Johns  Hopkins,  and  others.  Miinsterberg,  to- 
gether with  his  colleagues  Francke,  von  Jagemann,  and 
George  A.  Bartlett  were  the  Harvard  members  of  the  board 
of  directors  of  which  Henry  W.  Putnam  was  Chairman. 
Miinsterberg  liked  especially  to  emphasize  that  the  Mus^ 
eum  was  not  a  local  interest,  but  one  of  international 
significance.  It  was  eight  months  after  HoUeben 's  visit, 
on  March  6,  1902,  that  the-  gift  of  valuable  reproductions 
of  German  art  treasures,  from  the  German  emperor  to  the 
Harvard  Museum  was  presented  to  Harvard  ofiScially — 
this  time  not  by  his  ambassador,  but  by  his  brother,  Prince 
Henry. 

Here  it  is  timet  to  pause  and  reflect.  The  events  about 
to  be  chronicled,  so  charged  with  genuine  enthusiasm  and 
earnest  aspirations  at  the  time  of  their  happening,  are  not 
only  obscured  but  distorted  when  looked  at  in  the  light  of 
the  time  of  the  present  writing.  Enthusiasm  turns  to 
irony,  ideals  into  empty  bubbles.  It  is  the  task  of  the 
humblest  historian,  however,  to  present  the  past  untarn- 
ished by  events  that  followed.  Moreover,  it  is  the  duty  of 
those  who  believe  in  the  worth  of  human  endeavor,  to  trust 

83 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

that  noble  efforts,  whidi  through  the  course  of  later  events 
have  been  apparently  in  vain,  may  yet  have  scattered  seed 
that  in  some  remote  day  will  bear  unexpected  and  benef- 
icent fruit.  **Till  Burnham  forest  come  to  Dunsinane" 
were  the  words  of  unbelief  destined  to  be  thwarted,  and  the 
leaves  on  Tannhauser's  barren  rod  sprouted  thi'ough  the 
power  of  faith. 

The  festive  visit  of  Prince  Henry,  the  brother  of  Em- 
peror William,  to  the  United  States  was  an  event  to  which 
many  looked  forward  with  high  hopes  for  the  good  feeling 
that  would  result  from  it.  It  was  natural  that  Miinster- 
berg  felt  himself  to  no  small  degree  responsible  for  the 
reception  of  the  royal  visitor  at  Boston  and  particularly 
at  Harvard. 

It  was  towards  the  end  of  his.  strenuous  journey  that  the 
Prince  came  to  Boston.  He  had  witnessed  the  launching  of 
his  brother's  yacht  Meteor,  which  had  been  built  in  the 
United  States,  and  its  christening  by  the  President's  daugh- 
ter, Miss  Alice  Roosevelt.  He  had  not  only  been  enter- 
tained at  the  White  House  with  a  banquet  of  state  and  in 
the  Presidential  family  circle,  but  he  had  enjoyed  a  wild 
horseback  ride,  on  a  horse  owned  by  Senator  Lodge,  tete-a- 
tete  with  the  Rough  Rider  President.  He  had  seen  the 
country  in  its  holiday  mood,  had  sat  at  gorgeous  tables  and 
listened  to  innumerable  toasts,  had  heard  complimentary 
airs  played  by  numberless  bands.  But  hje  had  also  attended 
the  memorial  services  to  President  McKinley,  had  laid  a 
wreath  on  the  tomb  of  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon,  and 
had  planted  a  tree  in  front  of  a  monument  to  Lincoln. 

When  the  ceremonies  at  Boston  were  over,  the  character- 
istic part  of  the  day*s  program  began.  It  had  long  been 
a  matter  of  conjecture  whether  or  not  Harvard  University 
would  bestow  upon  the  Prince  an  honorary  degree.  The 
rumor  had  been  emphatically  denied,  for  the  venerable 
custom  at  Harvard  prescribed  that  degrees  be  given  only 

84 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 

at  Commencement  time,  which  is  in  June.  Since  the 
Prince's  visit  was  in  March,  it  seemed  impossible,  therefore, 
that  he  should  receive  this  highest  honor  of  the  oldest  Uni- 
versity in  the  land.  Before  his  arrival,  however,  the  Cor- 
poration finally  decided  that  the  exceptional  occasion  war- 
ranted an  exception  to  the  time-honored  rule,  and  for  the 
second  time  in  70  years  a  Harvard  degree  was  given  out 
of  season.  The  first  had  been  bestowed  on  President  An- 
drew Jackson;  fifteen  years  later  the  same  exception  was 
made  for  General  Joffre  of  France.  After  the  ceremony  in 
Memorial  Hall,  the  Prince  met  the  officers  of  the  University 
at  a  luncheon  in  University  Hall  and  then  was  received 
at  the  Harvard  Union  by  the  student  body  with  an  out- 
burst of  cheering.  Major  Henry  L.  Higginson  welcomed 
him  in  behalf  of  the  Alumni. 

On  the  invitation  of  the  Germanic  Museum  Association, 
two  hundred  guests  were  assembled  at  Miinsterberg's  house. 
In  the  philosopher's  library  the  Prince  heard  the  greeting 
spoken  by  Henry  W.  Putnam,  who  took  the  place  of  Carl 
Schurz,  the  President  of  the  Association,  who  was  kept 
away  by  illness.  Then  the  Prince,  with  cordial  words  of 
dedication,  handed  over  to  President  Eliot  photographs  of 
monuments  that  were  going  to  be  reproduced  in  casts  for 
the  Harvard  Germanic  Museum  and  that  were  to  be  ready 
to  send  in  four  months. 

And  President  Eliot  answered : 


We  wish  to  acknowledge  our  sincere  thanks  for  this  splendid 
gift  from  your  brother  and  sovereign.  We  feel  that  he  is  act- 
ing in  this  respect  in  full  accord  with  the  American  methods  of 
promoting  education.  He  has  given  it  as  an  endowment,  and  this 
University  is  constructed  by  means  of  the  endowments  of  friends. 

I  need  not  say  that  such  an  action  as  this  practical  endowment 
will  be  of  the  highest  value,  not  only  in  teaching  the  history  and 
development  of  the  German  people,  but  will  also  serve  as  an 
illustration  of  that  nation's  intelligence,  power,  and  progress. 

85 


HUGO  MIINSTERBERG 

And  as  Mr.  Putnam  has  already  said,  we  trace  our  lineage  back 
to  yours,  and  we  know  that  this  collection  which  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  has  given  us  will  represent  to  the  people  of  Cambridge 
the  ancient  arts  of  Germany,  whose  civilization  was  developed 
even  before  the  white  man  had  obtained  a  footing  upon  these 
shores. 

Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  carry  to  your  brother  the  most 
hearty  thanks  of  Harvard  University  for  those  valuable  contri- 
butions to  its  collections. 

Thereupon  the  Prince  added  spontaneously:  '*I  hope  it 
will  promote  good  feeling  between  the  two  nations/' 

Rich  and  manifold  as  these  years  were  for  Miinsterberg, 
with  their  academic,  public,  and  social  interests,  his  private 
life  was  also  full  of  varied  joys  and  cares.  It  was  a  great 
delight  for  him  in  the  summer  of  1900,  to  take  his  family 
abroad  to  visit  his  relatives,  for  the  first  time  as  a  traveler 
only,  whose  hearth  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
It  was  his  intention  henceforth  to  visit  his  native  land,  if 
possible,  every  other  summer. 

Miinsterberg 's  first  vacation  abroad,  however,  could  not 
pass  without  psychology.  It  was  the  year  of  the  great  Paris 
Exposition,  at  a  time  when  educated  people  were  not  yet 
jaded  from  world's  fairs.  Scientific  congresses  attached 
themselves  to  the  general  international  ado  of  the  great 
Fair  and  one  was  that  of  the  psychologists.  It  was  the 
fourth  international  Congress  of  Psychology  that  met  at 
Paris  in  August,  1900,  with  Professor  Richet  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent and  Dr.  Pierre  Janet  as  Secretary.  From  the  latter 
Miinsterberg  received  a  letter  in  May : 

Congrfes  International  de  Psychologie 
8/5/00  a  Paris,  Aout  1900 

Monsieur  &  honor£  Collogue 

je  vous  envoie  ci  joint  votre  carte  de  membre  du  Congr^s  de 
Psychologie.  Vous  savez  que  nous  serious  tr^s  honores  et  tres 
heureux  si  vous  vouliez  bien  faire  au  congres  une  communi- 

86 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 

cation  qui  serait  placee  ^  votre  choix  .dans  un  seance  generale 
oil  dans  une  seance  de  section.  Vous  seriez  bien  aimable  de  m'en 
envoyer  le  plutot  possible  le  titre  et  un  court  resume.  En  at- 
tendant nous  vous  prions  dfe  vouloir  bien  collaborer  avec  nous  en 
faisant  une  propagande  active  pour  notre  congres.  Si  vous  con- 
naissiez  quelques  uns  de  vos  ^l^ves  ou  quelques  autres  personnes 
qui  puissent  s^  interesser  et  qui  n'-aient  pas  encore  6te  pr^venues, 
veuillez  m'envoyer  leurs  noms  et  adresses  afin  que  je  puisse  leur 
faire  expedier  nos  circulaires  de  convocation. 

Je  serai  tres  heureux,  mon  cher  coll%ue,  de  cette  occasion  de 
faire  votre  connaissance  et  je  vous  prie  de  croire  a  Passurance 
de  mes  sentiments  tres  distingues. 

P.  Janet 

Miinsterberg,  who  believed  in  the  value  of  direct  social 
intercourse  among  specialists,  gladly  responded  to  this  call. 
It  was  at  this  Congress  that  he  presided  over  meetings  in 
English,  gave  his  chief  lecture  in  German,  and  took  part  in 
the  discussions  in  French.  Outside  of  the  hours  belonging 
to  the  Congress  proper,  he  enjoyed  the  brilliant  hospitality 
of  Prince  Bonaparte,  of  Professor  Richet  and  Dr.  Janet, 
with  whom  pleasant  relations  were  continued.  After  the 
Congress,  Dr.  Janet  wrote  to  his  colleague : 

29  Sept.  *00 
Tons  mes  remereiements,  cher  monsieur  Miinsterberg,  pour  votre 
aimable  lettre  et  votre  bon  souvenir.  Nous  esperons  bien  que 
votre  indisposition  n'a  pas  ete  serieuse.  Nous  serious  tr^s  heureux 
ma  femme  et  moi  dialler  vous  voir  en  Amerique  et  nous  vous 
remercions  ainsi  que  Madame  Miinsterberg  de  votre  aimable 
invitation.  Mais  vous  savez  comme  les  frauQais  sont  casaniers, 
nous  croirions  k  une  grande  aventure  si  nous  nous  decidions  a 
traverser  Tocean.    Mais,   qui   sait?    Nous   faisons  peu  h.  peu 

quelques  progr^s.  .  .  • 

Avec  nos  meilleurs  sentiments 

P.  Janet 


This  prediction  was  destined  to  come  true  five  years  later 
when  the  French  psychologist  and  his  wife  ventured,  after 

87 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


PHILOSOPHERS  AND  STATESMEN 


all,  to  cross  the  seas  in  order  to  attend  the  St.  Louis  Con- 
gress, and,  on  their  way  through  Boston,  visited  Miinster- 
berg^s  house. 

Full  of  stimulus  and  happiness  as  the  three  years  here 
chronicled  proved  to  be  for  Miinsterberg,  they  were  not 
without  the  shadows  caused  by  illness  in  his  family.  He 
himself  fell  prey  once  more  to  the  malignant  disease  diph- 
theria. He  had  gone  on  a  lecture  tour  to  Detroit,  thence 
to  Vassar  College,  where  he  was  treated  by  the  college  physi- 
cian ;  and  on  his  return  journey  to  New  York  was  overtaken 
with  the  malady.  There,  separated  from  his  family,  he 
passed  disagreeable,  trying  days,  but,  under  the  care  of  his 
friend.  Dr.  Emanuel  Baruch,  was  restored  in  a  remark- 
ably short  time,  and  returned  to  his  summer  cottage  in 
Clifton.  By  the  end  of  June  he  was  well  enough  to 
attend  the  Harvard  Commencement. 

Back  at  his  seashore  cottage,  Miinsterberg  plunged  im- 
mediately into  concentrated  work  on  his  comprehensive 
German  book.  The  Americans.  He  underrated  the  tax  on 
his  strength  made  by  his  recent  illness,  and  suffered  a 
nervous  breakdown.  For  some  months  following,  his 
health  was  not  what  he  desired,  and  his  ever  urgent  zest 
for  work  had  to  be  curbed.  His  tremendous  creative 
energy,  as  well  as  the  ready  sympathy  of  his  colleagues, 
are  reflected  in  some  of  their  remarks. 

Professor  Palmer  wrote  on  December  1,  1902  j 

...  It  grieves  but  does  not  surprise  me  to  hear  that  your 
health  is  in  a  low  case.  You  served  the  University  and  the 
country  so  largely  last  year  that  I  feared  you  would  suffer.  You 
must  leam  how  to  shirk,  as  the  rest  of  us  do.  I  wonder  if  you 
ever  sit  with  folded  hands  Y  I  waste  time  admirably  over  news- 
papers. It  is  good  to  hear  that  James  is  well.  I  hope  Royee  is 
in  good  order  too.  ... 

Royce  himself  also  wrote  to  express  his  regrets  at  his 

88 


colleague's  poor  health  and  offered  to  relieve  him  of  a 
course  in  philosophy,  adding  characteristically  that  this 
offer  of  help  was,  after  all,  a  selfish  suggestion,  since  he 
should  enjoy  the  course. 
William  James,  hearing  of  his  colleague's  illness,  wrote: 

Chocobua,  N.  H.,  July  11  (1902) 
Dear  Munsterbero, 

I  am  grieved  beyond  measure  at  what  you  write  me.  Diph- 
theria!!! Hell!  I  understand  your  need  of  quiet.  Yet  it 
might  be  that  the  absolute  quiet  of  this  country,  all  woods  and 
fragrance,  might  later  be  just  the  thing  you  need  as  a  change 
from  your  literary  labors.  So  we  will  keep  it  open  as  a  trump 
card,  and  see  in  August  or  September  how  things  go.  I  am  get- 
ting better  here  apace. — I  came  back  in  poor  nervous  condition. 

I  lecture  in  Cambr.  on  Monday  and  Tuesday.  If  I  go  on  at 
this  rate,  they'll  make  me  a  bishop.  As  for  my  book,  don't  read 
it  till  you're  on  your  deathbed  when  it  will  save  your  soul.  I 
fancy  you're  destined  to  abhor  it  if  you  look  at  it  now.  I  am 
glad  to  hear  that  Mrs.  Miinsterberg  likes  it  already. 

Pray  don't  use  up  all  your  vacation  gains  of  strength  by  pur- 
suing that  literary  composition ! 

Yours  always, 

Wm.  James 

The  book  referred  to  was  the  Varieties  of  Religious  Ex- 
perience.^ 


1  For  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chap- 
ter aee  Appendix,  pages  316-331. 


'i!  :'l 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 
(October,  1902-^ctoher,  1905) 

The  years  between  October,  1902,  and  October,  1905, 
which  are  to  be  chronicled  in  this  chapter,  were  rich  in 
events,  fruitful  and,  it  may  well  be  said,  characteristic 
years — years  characteristic  of  Miinsterberg's  varied  yet 
harmonious,  fields  of  activity. 

First;  the  interest  nearest  home,  that  is,  the  plan  for  a  fit 
habitation  for  his  daily  work  and  that  of  his  colleagues 
and  students  was  growing  encouragingly.  By  the  time 
of  the  celebration  of  Emerson's  hundredth  birthday,  on 
May  25,  3903,  enough  donations  had  been  collected  to 
make  possible  the  building  of  Emerson  Hall.  The  gifts 
ranged  from  Alfred  J.  White 's  $50,000  and  Andrew  Carne- 
gie's  $12,000  to  one  and  two  dollars  from  '*  Lover  of 
Emerson''  and  other  enthusiasts.  It  was  natural,  of 
course,  that  Bostonians  should  be  prominent  on  the  list 
of  contributors  toward  the  memorial  to  the  Sage  of  Con- 
cord. Special  provision  was  made  by  Mr.  White  for  the 
equipment  of  the  Department  of  Social  Ethics  under 
Professor  Francis  Peabody.  Two  years  later,  when  Emer- 
son Hall  was  already  built,  the  important  gift  of  the 
Bobbins  Library  was  made  by  Reginald  d  Bobbins,  that 
is,  of  a  fund  by  which  Emerson  Hall  was  provided  with 
a  philosophical  library,  containing  chiefly  books  on  meta- 
physics. 

On  Monday,  May  25,  1903,  the  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  Concord  philosopher's  birthday,  the  comer-stont 

90 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

was  laid  for  Emerson  Hall.  An  Emerson  Memorial, 
spread  over  the  week  before  the  anniversary,  was  held  at 
the  university  in  the  form  of  lectures,  readings,  and  a  ser- 
mon. On  Monday,  May  18,  Miinsterberg  spoke  to  a  large 
audience  on  *' Emerson  as  a  Philosopher,"  on  the  follow- 
ing Wednesday  Mr.  C.  J.  Copeland,  so  beloved  by  the  stu- 
dents for  his  eccentricities,  his  humor,  his  excellent  reading 
and  his  extraordinary  gift  for  inspiring  others,  read  from 
Emerson's  poetry  and  prose.  On  Friday  Professor  San- 
tayana,  himself  a  poet-phnosopher,  spoke  on  **  Emerson  as 
a  Poet. ' '  On  Sunday,  Professor  Francis  Peabody  preached 
in  Appleton  Chapel  on  '* Emerson  as  a  Religious  Teacher" 
and  on  Monday,  the  day  of  the  anniversay,  Dickinson  Mil- 
ler lectured  on  ** Emerson  as  an  American." 

On  that  day  Miinsterberg  spoke  in  Concord,  Massa- 
chusetts, the  hallowed  ground  of  the  noblest  New  England 
tradition.  The  occasion  was  a  banquet  given  by  the  his- 
toric  Social  Circle  of  Concord,  about  which  Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson  had  written  to  a  friend  in  December  17,  1844: 

"Much  the  best  sooiety  I  have  ever  known  is  a  club  in  Concord 
called  the  Social  Circle,  consisting  always  of  twenty-five  of  our 
citizens,  doctor,  lawyer,  farmer,  trader,  miller,  mechanic,  etc., 
solidest  of  men,  who  yield  the  solidest  of  gossip.  Harvard  Uni- 
versity is  a  wafer  compared  to  the  *lid  land  which  my  fnends 
represent." 

Miinsterberg  was  susceptible  to  the  charm  of  Concord, 
that  gentle  stronghold  of  idealism  and  veneration  for  the 
thought  treasures  of  the  past.  The  Colonial  houses  with 
their  simple  dignity,  the  drowsy  gardens,  the  beautiful 
graveyard  ** Sleepy  Hollow"  with  many  honored  graves, 
the  historic  houses,  **The  Old  Manse,"  the  '* Grape  Vine 
Cottage"  whefe  the  Alcotts  used  to  live,  the  ** Wayside" 
with  the  garret  where  Hawthorne  wrote  looking  down  on 

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HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 


a  restful  grove  of  pines — all  this  had  an  aroma  quite  of 
its  own. 

With  the  son  of  the  Concord  philosopher,  Dr.  Edward 
Emerson,  Miinsterberg  had  a  very  pleasant  acquaintance, 
as  will  be  shown  in  the  following  chapter,  and  it  was 
natural,  of  course,  that  Dr.  Emerson  should  take  the  keen- 
est interest  in  the  growth  of  Emerson  Hall. 

That  the  larger  educated  public  of  New  England  might 
understand  the  deeper  inner  relation  between  the  new 
Harvard  home  for  philosophy  and  the  teachings  of  the 
Concord  sage,  the  address  that  Miinsterberg  delivered  at 
the  Harvard  celebration  appeared  a  few  days  later  in 
the  Bost(fn  Transcript,  and  was  called  **  Emerson  the  Phi- 
losopher— a  Plea  for  a.  Revival  of  Idealism. ' ' 

While  plans  were  growing  for  the  new  habitation  of 
philosophy,  (^aily  work  was  going  on  in  the  old,  narrow 
quarters.  Psychological  problems,  moreover,  were  often 
carried  beyond  the  frontiers  of  the  University.  Indeed, 
the  years  from  the  winter  of  1902  to  the  winter  of  1905 
may  well  be  called  years  of  scientific  congresses  for  Miin- 
sterberg. Not  only  did  the  great  international  Congress, 
which  shall  be  given  chief  attention  in  this  chapter,  ab- 
sorb a  large  part  of  his  time,  energy,  and  enthusiasm,  but 
he  found  it  worth  while  also  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the 
Psychological  Association  for  several  consecutive  years. 
In  December,  1902,  the  psychologists  met  at  Washington; 
in  1903,  just  before  the  opening  of  the  World's  Fair,  at  St. 
Louis;  and  in  1904,  at  Philadelphia.  There  Miinsterberg 
delivered  two  lectures  very  different  from  each  other,  one 
of  interest  to  specialists,  on  the  acoustic  theory,  the  other 
with  a  broad,  philosophic  significance  on  the  **  System  of 
Values'' — ^his  own  system  of  philosophy,  which  he  was  con- 
stantly perfecting. 

With  the  psychologists  of  Yale,  Columbia,  Princeton, 

92 


Cornell,  Johns  Hopkins,   Clark,  and  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  Miinsterberg  was  in  frequent  communica- 
tion.   With  Professor  Cattell  of  Columbia,  for  whom  he 
always  had  a  high  regard,  his  relations  were  most  cordial. 
There  were  various  joint  enterprises  at  that  time  which, 
though  they  have  lost  their  immediate  importance  when 
looked  back  upon  years  later,  were  nevertheless  valuable 
factors  in  the  promotion  of  specialized  intercourse  among 
scientific  minds — intercourse  that  by   its  stimulus  must 
ultimately  be  fruitful  of  new  ideas.    Thus,  in  the  spring 
and  summer  of  1904  there  was  lively  correspondence  be- 
tween Miinsterberg  and  colleagues  from  Yale  and  Colum- 
bia in  regard  to  the  best  way  of  publishing  the  reports, 
hitherto  too  scattered,  of  the  research  work  done  in  the 
different  American  psychological  laboratories,  as  a  series 
of  monographs  under  one  editorship,  possibly  under  the 
supervision   of  the   American   Psychological  Association. 
Half  a  year  earlier,  in  the  winter  of  1903-04,  the  Journal 
of  Philosophy,  Psychology  and  Scientific  Method  was  called 
into  being,  of  which  Professor  Cattell,  who  was  widely 
experienced   in   the   managment   of   scientific   priodicals, 
was  editor.    In  December,  1903,  Professor  Cattell  wrote 
to  Miinsterberg: 

I  am  much  indebted  to  you  for  your  letter  and  for  the  en- 
couragement that  you  gave.  ...  It  will  be  a  great  privilege  to 
begin  the  new  journal  with  an  article  by  you.  Woodbridge  and 
I  discussed  your  suggestion  of  the  title  "The  Journal  of  Phi- 
losophy and  Science"  and  nearly  adopted  it.  It,  however,  seemed 
rather  too  inclusive,  promising  more  than  could  be  given.  It  is 
intended  to  be  a  trade  journal  for  students  of  philosophy,  psy- 
chology, and  the  principles  of  science,  and  this  is  indicated  by 
the  title  proposed. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  college  year  1903-04  Miinster- 
berg  did  not  confine  even  his  academic  teaching  to  his  own 
University,  but,  in  response  to  an  invitation  from  Prof es- 

93 


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HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

sor  Cattell,  gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  experimental  psy- 
chology at  Columbia  University. 

Not  only  the  eastern  universities  claimed  Miinsterberg's 
services  and  interest ;  those  of  the  Middle  West  invited  him, 
and  he  was  eager  to  grow  acquainted  with  their  lives  and 
problems.  With  President  James  of  the  University  of 
Illinois  he  had  very  pleasant  relations  and  enjoyed  his 
hospitality  during  visits  to  the  typical  middle  western  col- 
lege town  Champaign-Urbana,  where  Miinsterberg  also 
knew  members  of  the  faculty.  In  February,  1905,  he 
delivered  lectures  at  the  Illinois  State  University  and  car- 
ried home  with  him  a  more  thorough  understanding  of  the 
special  vocation  of  the  Western  state  universities  with 
their  coeducation,  the  prominence  given  to  practical  arts 
and  studies,  the  limitations  imposed  by  the  state  legisla- 
tures and  the  advantages  of  vigorous,  ambitious  student 
material. 

It  was  in  June,  1904,  that  Miinsterberg  responded  to  an 
invitation  from  the  University  of  Kansas  in  Lawrence, 
Kansas,  to  give  the  commencement  address  at  the  graduat- 
ing exercises.  A  visit  to  the  great  prairie  state  attracted 
the  Harvard  philosopher  and  he  found  it  a  most  congenial 
task  to  address  the  graduating  class  and  the  assembled 
alumni  of  the  Western  seat  of  learning,  to  join  in  its 
festivities,  and  to  receive  its  hearty  hospitality. 

It  was  in  the  same  June  at  St.  Louis,  at  the  animated 
time  of  the  great  World's  Fair,  that  Washington  Univer- 
sity  bestowed  upon  Miinsterberg  the  honorary  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws.  That  this  distinction  should  be  offered 
him  by  Washington  University,  in  the  midst  of  the  Louisi- 
ana Purchase  Exposition,  had  for  him  a  most  gratifying 
significance,  because  it  harmonized  with  end,  in  a  certain 
measure,  crowned  his  devoted  work  for  the  supplementing 
and  perfecting  of  the  Exposition  through  the  concourse  of 

94 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

representative  scholars  that  was  to  take  plajje  a  few  mcwiths 
later.  The  ** Washington  University  Alumni  Day"  was 
kept  as  part  of  the  World's  Fair  festivities.  The  addresses 
on  that  afternoon  were  '*by  Hugo  Miinsterberg,  Ph.D., 
Professor  of  Psychology  in  Harvard  University;  Hon. 
D.  R.  Francis,  A.B.,  class  of  '70;  W.  S.  Chaplin,  LL.D., 
Chancellor  of  the  University;  C.  M.  Woodward,  Ph.D., 
Dean  of  the  School  of  Engineering  and  Architecture." 
At  the  commencement  ceremonies  in  the  morning,  Dean 
Woodward  spoke  thus: 

Mb.  Chancellor: 

I  have  the  honor  in  behalf  of  my  associates  to  present  for  the 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  Professor  Hugo  Miinster- 
berg of  Harvard  University.  I  do  this  with  the  greater  pleasure 
inasmuch  as  he  represents  not  only  a  great  Nation  across  the  sea, 
but  a  great  University  across  our  own  land. 

Professor  Miinsterberg  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Phi- 
losophy at  Leipzic,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  at  Heidel- 
berg.   He  is  thus  familiar  with  the  best  that  Germany  has  to 

give. 

For  twelve  years  he  has  filled  with  distinguished  honor  the  chair 
of  Psychology  at  Harvard  University.  As  a  writer  he  has  served 
both  continents.  He  has  given  us  a  truer  insight  and  a  more  in- 
timate knowledge  of  Germans  and  of  Germany.  In  turn  the 
Germans  and  Germany  are  indebted  to  him  for  a  better  knowl- 
edge of  America  and  Americans.  He  has  won  an  international 
reputation  as  a  teacher  and  expounder  of  philosophy.  American 
education  and  American  scholarship  are  indebted  to  hun  for  emi- 
nent service. 

We  welcome  him  to  St.  Louis  to-day.  This  University  wiU 
honor  itself  in  conferring  upon  him  its  highest  title,  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws. 

In  order  to  understand  the  importance  of  Miinsterberg 's 
relation  to  the  St.  Louis  Exposition,  it  is  necessary  to 
trace  completely  the  history  of  the  great  international  con- 
gress of  scholars  in  September,  1904. 

95 


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HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

Previous  world's  fairs — at  Paris  in  1878  and  1889,  at 
Philadelphia  in  1876,  at  Vienna  in  1873,  at  Chicago  in 
1893 — had  been  supplemented  by  scientific  congresses,  and 
the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900  had  125  congresses  connected 
with  it.  This  accumulation  of  specialists'  gatherings  had 
not,  however,  been  well  attended.  In  the  words  of  Howard 
J.  Rogers,  the  Director  of  Congresses  at  St.  Louis: 

If  this  condition  could  prevail  in  Paris,  the  home  of  arts  and 
letters,  in  the  immediate  center  of  the  great  constituency  of  the 
University  and  of  many  scientific  circles  and  learned  societies, 
and  within  easy  travehng  distance  of  other  European  university 
and  literary  centers,  it  was  fair  to  presume  that  the  usefulness 
of  this  class  of  congress  was  decreasing.  It  certainly  was  safe  to 
assume,  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  of  the  St.  Louis  Exposi- 
tion of  1904,  that  such  a  series  could  not  be  a  success  in  that  city, 
owing  to  its  geographical  position  and  the  limited  number  of  uni- 
versity and  scientific  circles  within  a  reasonable  travehng  distance. 
Something  more  than  a  repetition  of  the  stereotyped  form  of  con- 
ference was  admitted  to  be  necessary  in  order  to  arouse  interest 
among  scholars  and  to  bring  credit  to  the  Exposition. 

The  need  of  departure  from  tradition  was  felt,  while 
there  was  a  decided  unwillingness  to  give  up  the  inter- 
course of  active  thoughts  as  the  living  accompaniments  to 
the  material  exhibitions.  The  problem  of  just  what  new 
form  of  communion  could  be  devised  occupied  the  minds 
of  the  president  of  the  St.  Louis  Exposition,  Mr.  Francis, 
the  director  of  exhibits,  Mr.  Skiff,  the  chief  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Education,  and  of  Mr.  Rogers.  These  officials 
further  sought  the  advice  of  President  Butler  of  Columbia, 
President  Harper  of  Chicago  University  and  Frederick 
William  Holls.  It  was  in  September,  1902,  two  years  be- 
fore the  embodiment  of  the  project  now  discussed,  that  a 
conference  took  place  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Holls  in  Yonkers, 
to  which  he  had  invited  Miinsterberg  that  he  might  help 
with  possible  suggestions.    Mr.  Skiff  had  emphasized  the 

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WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

desirability  of  offering  something  more  than  a  scattered 
row  of  isolated  congresses ;  Mr.  Holls  proposed  a  series  of 
lectures  by  men  prominent  in  science  or  literature  to  be 
invited  and  paid  by  the  Exposition,  and  Mr.  Holls  and 
President  Butler  both  decided  th«t  it  would  be  b-est  to  have 
these    lectures   concentrated   in   one   month.    Thereupon 
Miinsterberg  brought  forward  the  idea  which  was  the  nu- 
cleus of  the  great  undertaking  that  followed.    It  seemed 
to  him  that  the  opportunity  offered  by  the  gathering  of 
scholars  at  a  World's  Fair  might  be  used  for  some  con- 
structive, creative  work.    He  believed  that  ''&  series  of 
unrelated  lectures,  even  though  given  by  most  eminent 
men,  would  have  little  or  no  scientific  value,  but  that  if  some 
relation  or  underlying  thought  could  be  introduced  into 
the  addresses,  then  the  best  work  could  be  done,  which 
would  be  of  real  value  to  the  scientific  world." 

On  the  one  hand,  the  participants,  who  should  be  leaders 
in  their  fields  and  drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  scientific 
world,  would  be  more  attracted  by  the  idea  of  sharing  in 
a   new   contribution   to   scholarship   than   by   honoraria 
alone;  on  the  other  hand,  the  service  that  might  be  ren- 
dered would  be  valuable  in  itself.    The  unification  of  all 
branches  of  knowledge  into  one  synthetic  system  under 
which  experts  in  each  branch  could  state  authoritatively 
its  relation  to  all  other  branches  and  to  the  whole  would 
in  itself  be  a  service  to  scholarship.    Indeed,  the  time  was 
ripe  for  such  a  unification.    The  scattering  of  sciences  and 
the  isolation  of  much  specialized  research,  while  the  rela- 
tion of  each  to  each  and  each  to  the  whole  of  knowledge  was 
being  lost  sight  of,  had  already  made  itself  felt  as  a  great 
defect;  the  philosophical  tendency  that  was  now  in  the 
ascendant  once  more  demanded  harmony  of  scientific  en- 
deavor.    The  establishment  of  such  harmony  seemed  to 

97 


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HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

Miinsterberg  a  task  most  worthy  of  the  best  scholars  in  the 
world ;  he  proposed  it,  therefore,  as  the  aim  and  substance 
of  an  international  congress  of  scholars.  This  idea  met 
immediate  response,  and,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  HoUs,  Miin- 
sterberg, in  a  letter  of  October  20,  1902,  laid  before  the 
Exposition  authorities  the  logical  basis  of  the  plan  for  the 
one  large,  all-inclusive  congress. 

After  this  preliminary  conference  and  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  logical  plan  as  groundwork  for  further  develop- 
ments, the  congress  administration  was  formed.  Howard 
J.  Rogers  was  appointed  Director  of  Congresses,  and  was 
assisted  by  an  advisory  board  that  later  became  the  Ad- 
ministrative Board  with  the  following  members :  Chairman, 
President  Butler  of  Columbia;  President  Harper  of  Chi- 
cago University;  Frederick  W.  HoUs;  President  R.  H. 
Jesse  of  the  University  of  Missouri;  President  Henry  S. 
Pritchett  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology; 
Herbert  Putnam,  Librarian  of  Congress ;  and  Frederick  J. 
V.  Skiff,  Director  of  the  Field-Columbian  Museum.  The 
first  oflBcial  meeting  of  the  Director  with  the  Administrative 
Board  took  place  on  December  27,  1902,  in  New  York.  At 
this  meeting  recommendations  were  made  to  the  Exposi- 
tion authorities.  It  was  recommended  that  the  Congress 
be  held  within  a  period  of  four  weeks,  beginning  Septem- 
ber 15,  1904,  that  various  groups  of  learned  men  who  might 
come  together  be  asked  to  discuss  their  several  sciences  or 
professions  with  reference  to  some  theme  of  universal  in- 
terest in  order  that  thereby  a  certain  unity  of  interest  and 
of  Action  may  be  had,  in  such  a  way  that  these  groups 
would  form  sections  of  one  single  congress;  that  **The 
Progress  of  Man  since  the  Louisiana  Purchase,'*  that  is, 
throughout  the  century  just  completed,  be  considered  as  a 
fit  theme  for  the  discussions  of  the  Congress;  that  the 
participants  of  the  Congress  be  leading  men  in  the  fields 

98 


■:*  ._ 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

of  natural  science,  of  historical,  sociological,  and  economic 
studies,  of  philosophy  and  religion,  of  medicine  and  sur- 
gery, of  law,  politics,  and  government  and  of  applied  sci- 
ence'; that  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose'of  working  out  the  detaUs  of  the  plan  for  the  Con- 
gress.   These  recommendations  were  approved  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Congresses  as  well  as  by  the  Exfecutive  Committee 
and  the  President  of  the  Exposition.    Then  came  the 
formation  of  the  Committee  on  Plan  and  Scope  from 
which  the  officers  of  the  Congress  were  chosen.    The  Com- 
mittee, which  as  such  was  short-lived  because  its  purpose 
was  solely  the  drawing  up  of  a  suitable  plau,  consisted 
of  the  following  members:  Dr.  Simon  Newcomb,  retirefd 
Professor  of  Mathematics,  United  States  Navy,  Chairman; 
Professor  Hugo  Miinsterberg,  Professor  of  Psychology, 
Hanvard  University;  Professor  John  Bassett  Moore,  ex- 
Assistant  secretary  of  State  and  Professor  of  International 
Law  and  Diplomacy,  Columbia  University;  Professor  Al- 
bion W.  Small,  Professor  of  Sociology,  University  of  Chi- 
cago- Dr.  William  H.  Welch,  Professor  of  Pathology, 
John's  Hopkins  University;  Honorable  Elihu  Thompson, 
Consulting  Engineer,  General  Electric  Company;  and  Pro- 
fessor George  P.  Moore,  Professor  of  the  History  of  Reli- 
gion Harvard  University.    The  first  meeting  of  the  Com- 
mittee took  place  at  the  Hotel  Manhattan,  New  York.    As 
a  basis  for  preliminary  discussions  the  recommendations  of 
the  Administrative  Board  were  used  and  the  plan  laid  out 
by  Miinsterberg  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Holls.    At  a  second 
meeting,  on  January  17th,  a  report  on  decisions  reached 
was  drawn  up  for  the  Administrative  Board  which  met  two 
days  later.    Three  plans  had  been  offered  to  the  Commit- 
tee of  Plan  and  Scope-one  by  Professor  Miinsterberg,  one 
by  Professor  Small,  one  by  Professor  Newcomb.    Munster- 
berg'8  plan  aimed  at  showing  the  advancement  of  scholar- 

99 


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I  I 


!    I      1 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


ship  in  the  past  century  in  a  logically  classified  system 
that  would  bring  out  the  relation  of  all  branches  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  unity  of  scholarly  endeaviors.  Professor 
Small  proposed  a  plan  by  which  **the  scholar's  interpreta- 
tion of  progress  in  civilization  in  general* '  should  be  rep- 
resented, with  the  following  divisions  of  the  topic :  I,  The 
Promotion  of  Health ;  II,  The  Promotion  of  Wealth ;  III, 
The  Harmonizing  of  Human  Relations;  IV,  Progress  in 
Religion.  The  plan  of  Professor  Newcomb  favored  the 
idea  of  *'a  congress  of  publicists  and  representative  men 
of  all  nations  and  of  all  civilized  peoples  which  should  dis- 
cuss relations  of  each  to  all  the  others  and  throw  light 
on  the  question  of  promoting  the  unity  and  progress  of  the 
race." 

After  due  consideration,  a  resolution  was  made  that 
''Mr.  Miinsterberg 's  plan  be  adopted  as  setting  forth  the 
general  object  of  the  Congress  and  defining  the  scope  of 
its  work,  and  that  Mr.  Small's  piaji  be  communicated  to 
the  general  Committees  as  containing  suggestions  as  to  de- 
tails, but  without  recommending  its  adoption  as  a  whole.'' 

The  date  of  the  Congress  was  set  for  the  week  beginning 
September  14,  1904.  All  in  all,  it  was  estimated  that  340 
papers  would  be  read.  Miinsterberg 's  plan,  though  modi- 
fied in  detail,  was  carried  out  in  principle.  It  was  further 
decided  that  the  addresses  on  the  topics  of  the  large  gen- 
eral divisions  and  departments  should  be  made  by  Ameri- 
cans as  a  special  contribution  of  American  scholarship. 
The  advice  and  assistance  of  the  various  learned  societies 
of  the  country  were  strongly  recommended  in  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  Congress,  and  it  was  also  thought  desirable 
that  scientific  bodies  hold  their  meetings  during  the  week 
after  the  international  Congress. 

When  the  report  of  the  decisions  made  by  the  Committee 
of  Plan  and  Scope  were  presented  to  the  Administrative 

100 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

Board,  Miinsterberg  was  invited  to  be  present  for  discus- 
sion At  this  point  the  International  Congress  of  Arts 
and  Science  was  actually  created.  On  the  recommenda- 
tions  of  the  Administrative  Board,  the  scheme  of  the  Com- 
mittee  on  Plan  and  Scope  was  adopted  and  the  Exposition 
authorities  named  Professor  Simon  Newcomb  President  of 
the  International  Congress  of  Arts  and  Science  and  Profes- 
sor Munsterberg  and  Professor  Small  Vice-Presidents. 
The  Administrative  Board  remained  for  general  over- 
sight, whereas  the  details  of  the  work  were  now  entrusted 
to  the  officers  of  the  Congress. 

It  was  decided  that  invitations  to  the  foreign  scholars, 
for  whom  a  journey  to  St.  Louis  in  the  summer  naturally 
meant  a  formidable  undertaking,  would  have  more  weight 
if  presented  personally  by  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Con- 
gress.   Accordingly  the  President  and  two  J^^fj'^'^'^^ 
were  scheduled  to  sail  in  the  summer  of  1903  to  see  the 
leading  scholars  of  western  and  central  Europe  and  ask 
them  to  participate  in  the  Congress  at  St.  Louis.    Profes- 
sor Newcomb  was  to  invite  the  learned  men  from  France, 
Professor  Small  those  from  England,  Russia,  Italy,  a  part 
of  Austria,  and  Munsterberg  those  from  Germany,  Austria, 
and  Switzerland.    This  mission  was  most  congenial  to  him 
and  harmonized  well  with  his  private  plan  of  spending, 
if  possible,  alternate  summers  in  Europe.    In  January, 
1903,  Miinsterberg  went  to  St.  Louis  to  consult  with  Presi- 
dent  Francis,  Mr.  Lehmann,  and  various  others  ^^  autjo^' 
ity  on  Exposition  projects,  and  in  the  summer  of  1903  he 
set  sail  with  his  family  for  his  tour  of  invitations^   Pro- 
fessor Newcomb  sailed  on  May  6,  Miinsterberg  on  May  30 
and  Professor  Small  on  June  6.    Besides  the  invitations 
to  foreign  scholars,  the  three  officers  of  the  Congress  each 
undertook  the  general  oversight  of  studies  especially  m 
their  line  of  scholarship.    Thus  Professor  Newcomb  made 

101 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


i«'i 


himself  responsible  for  the  best  possible  representation  of 
mathematics,  physics,  astronomy,  biology,  and  technology; 
Professor  Small  for  that  of  politics,  law,  economics,  theol- 
ogy; and  Miinsterberg  for  that  of  philosophy,  philology, 
art,  education,  psychology,  and  medicine. 

Before  going  on  to  tell  the  history  of  the  Congress,  it 
is  well  to  consider  the  plan  as  Miinsterberg  had  conceived 
it  and  worked  it  out  and  as  it  was  embodied,  with  only 
those  modifications  that  practical  circumstances  de- 
manded, in  the  living  assembly  and  its  work.  The  St. 
Louis  Congress  was  unique  among  Congresses  for  this 
very  reason,  that  it  was  the  actual  and  visible  realization 
of  an  ideal  system  of  unified  knowledge— that  the  ideal  was 
first  and  its  embodiment  came  after,  just  as  in  the  creation 
of  a  work  of  art. 

Miinsterberg  anticipated  the  objection  of  specialists 
who,  distrustful  of  generalizations,  might  maintain  that 
a  classification  of  the  sciences  had  interest  only  for  the 
logician,  and  not  for  those  who  had  the  progress  of  the 
sciences  themselves  at  heart.  He  took  care,  therefore,  to 
provide  that  the  organizers  confine  themselves  to  a  mini- 
mum of  logical  classification,  to  the  mere  building  of  a 
framework,  whereas  the  actual  relation  of  science  to  science 
should  be  worked  out  by  the  contributors  themselves  in 
the  various  lectures. 

To  understand  this  framework,  we  must  once  more  use 
the  language  of  Miinsterberg 's  philosophical  writings. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  he  looked  upon  our  world  as 
one  of  subjects  and  objects.  The  pure  experience  of  will 
he  recognized  as  subject,  and  the  world  upon  which  the 
will  acted  as  object.  The  acts  of  the  will  themselves  he 
considered  as  over-individual  and  individual  will-acts,  the 
objects  as  over-individual  and  as  individual  objects. 
Now  it  is  the  over-individual  will-acts,  that  is,  the  norms 
of  truth,  beauty,  and  morality,  that  make  the  substance 

102 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

of  the  normative  sciences;  the  individual  will-acts,  the 
acts  of  individuals  communicating  with  and  influencing 
one  another,  are  the  substance  of  the  historical  sciences. 
The  ove  -individual  objects,  that  is,  the  objects  common  to 
LveraT subjects,  are  material  for  the  physical  sciences; 
the  individual  Objects,  or  objects  that  are  possible  only 
for  sTngk  subjects,  are  material  for  the  mental  sciences. 
Thu    the  worli  of^  purpose  and  the  world  of  phenomena 
are  clearly  differentiated  and  the  wide,  complex  field  of 
Z^^e'^  divided  according  to  its  primal  essences.    To 
SeT  rgfdivisio^^  of  normative  science,  ^^^^^f^^^^^ 

edge  he  considered  as  belonging  to  science  and  n^  to 

the  arts     In  this  sense  he  even  considered  all  knowledge 

u^dl  ntally  theoretical,  even  when  it  is  concerned  w^* 

the  solvin.   of  P-f  f  J^^;-:" Jedr^  A^^ 
claim   of   pragmatists  that   al^   ^T**'^*,,,  J,  merely 
Moreover   applied  sciences,  in  his  view,  were  not  merely 
fhe^^S^ences  applied,  but  the  -iences  of  appl^c^^^ 
tion,  which,  though  equally  self-dependent  have-through 
a  shifting  of  the  center  of  gravity  of  interest-different 
Durnoses  from  those  that  are  purely  theoretical. 
^CsT  seven  large  divisions  were  again  dmded  into 
main  departments  and  these  into  special  sections     Thus 
The  dSon  of  normative  science  was  subdivided  into 
he  departments  of  philosophy  and  -t«^  th^^dm- 
sion  of  historical  science  into  seven  departments   pom 
and  economic  history,  history  of  law  ^^-tory  .^  anguag  > 
history  of  literature,  history  of  art,  and  history  ore 
Son    U  the  same  way  physical  science  was  divided  mto 
*  103 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

physics,  chemistry,  astronomy,  sciences  of  the  earth,  biol- 
ogy, anthropology ;  and  mental  science  into  psychology  and 
sociology.  The  division  of  utilitarian  sciences  consisted 
of  the  departments  of  medicine,  technology  and  economics ; 
the  division  called  ** social  regulation'*  of  the  departments 
of  politics,  jurisprudence,  and  social  science;  the  division 
** social  culture''  of  the  departments  education  and  re- 
ligion.  Within  these  departments  the  specialized  sections 
gave  the  expert  opportunity  to  make  his  contribution 
toward  the  ideal  synthesis. 

It  was  at  the  section  meetings  that  the  distinguished 
foreign  guests  were  invited  to  deliver  their  lectures.  The 
International  Congress  at  St.  Louis  was  unique  primarily 
because  it  was  the  first  academic  alliance  between  the 
United  States  and  Europe.  On  the  one  hand,  personal 
contact  between  the  American  scholarly  public  and  the 
European  leaders  of  thought,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
recognition  of  American  scholarship  by  European  savants, 
sealed  by  their  living  and  active  presence,  were  forces  of 
the  utmost  importance.  Miinsterberg  had  so  strongly  ad- 
vocated the  plan  of  emphasizing  the  unity  of  knowledge 
and  the  interrelation  of  sciences  rather  than  the  service  of 
scholarship  to  practical  progress,  largely  because  he  was 
eager  to  convince  skeptical  scholarly  Europe  of  the  high 
standard  of  American  scholarship  that  had  been  repeatedly 
accused  of  servility  to  practical  ends— an  accusation  that 
Miinsterberg  had  ardently  refuted  in  an  essay  in  a  Ger- 
man magazine  that  Ambassador  Andrew  D.  White  cir- 
culated all  over  Europe. 

It  was  with  great  enthusiasm  that  Miinsterberg  set 
sail  to  call  the  masters  of  foreign  scholarship  to  the  sun- 
baked capital  of  Missouri.  He  was  well  aware  that  St. 
Louis  must  seem  endlessly  more  remote  from  the  various 
European  seats  of  learning  to  the  invited  scholars  than  to 
himself,  that  there  were  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of 

104 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

realizing  his  ideal  plan,  and  that  his  task  was  delicate 

indeed. 

Many  of  the  scholars,  he  knew,  were  quite  absorbed  in 
work  and  so  contentedly  settled  that  a  long  journey  to  the 
heat  and  swarm  of  St.  Louis  at  the  time  of  the  World's 
Fair  would  be  a  formidable  prospect  unless  they  were 
convinced  that  the  undertaking  was  undoubtedly  worth 
while.    His  enthusiasm  was  rewarded  by  warm  interest 
on  the  part  of  the  European  scholars,  and  a  respectful  ap- 
preciation of  the  honor  implied  in  the  invitation.    In- 
deed,  the  three  learned  emissaries  from  America  had  no 
reason  for  complaint:  the  150  personal  invitations  pre- 
sented  in  the  summer  of  1903  were  rewarded  by  117  ac- 
ceptances for  lectures  in  128  sections  of  the  program.    In 
Berlin  Miinsterberg  communicated  with  Althoff  and  with 
his  friend  Friedrich  Schmidt,  who  administered  educa- 
tional affairs  and  from  them  he  received  earnest  support 
for  the  international  academic  assembly. 

At  Berlin  Miinsterberg  also  secured  the  contributing 
attendance  of  a  scholar  of  world  fame,  Adolph  Waldeyer, 
the  anatomist,  who  was  made  one  of  the  honorary  Vice- 
Presidents   of    the    Congress.    At    Leipzig    Miinsterberg 
visited  his  old  teacher,  Wundt,  whom  he  could  not  allure 
away,  however,  from  his  laboratory  at  home.    The  his- 
torian Lamprecht  and  the  philologist  Sievers  from  the 
same  university  accepted  the  American  invitation.    Further 
visits  to  scholars  in  Munich,   Heidelberg,  Breslau    and 
Kiel  were,  on  the  whole,  satisfactory  and  fruitful.    When 
an  invitation  was  declined,  it  was  not  from  lack  of  interest, 
but  generally  because  of  the  exactions  of  the  long  journey 
—for  many  of  the  savants  were  old  men— or  else  because 
of  pressure  of  duties  at  home.    The  frailty  of  the  flesh 
was,  indeed,  the  greatest  enemy  that  threatened  the  per- 
fection of  the  Congress ;  in  several  cases  acceptances  had 
to  be  withdrawn  on  account  of  illness  just  before  the  date 

105 


i 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

of  the  expected  sailing,  so  that  Professor  Newcomb  was 
at  one  time  inspired  to  write  to  Miinsterberg :  **I  doubt 
whether  any  plague  recorded  in  history  ever  attacked 
the  population  of  a  city  in  such  a  proportion  as  sickness 
has  attacked  our  foreign  speakers/'  In  spite  of  these 
disappointments,  the  invitation  tours  were  well  rewarded. 
Newcomb,  Small,  and  Miinsterberg  met  in  Munich  to 
compare  notes.  Again  they  gathered  on  a  sunny  day 
among  the  beauties  of  the  little  international  paradise 
Lucerne,  in  the  garden  of  the  Swiss  Hotel,  while  the 
snow  mountains  looked  down  on  the  three  eager  scholars, 
with  their  plans  and  programs,  among  the  idle  tourists 
round  about.  In  Switzerland  Miinsterberg  visited  and 
invited  scholars  at  Zurich,  Basel,  and  at  Berne  where  the 
plans  for  the  Congress  interested  David  Jayne  Hill,  the 
United  States  Minister,  who  was  himself  a  thorough 
scholar  and  who  readily  consented  to  contribute  to  the 
section  on  Diplomacy. 

The  stimulating  work  of  the  summer  in  Europe  was 
suddenly  overshadowed  by  news  of  the  untimely  death 
of  Frederick  William  Holls.  That  this  most  public- 
spirited  practical  idealist  could  not  live  to  see  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  idea  that  he  had  so  largely  inspired  was  a 
great  sorrow  to  Miinsterberg,  who  felt  keenly,  moreover, 
the  loss  of  an  honored  friend. 

On  the  voyage  home,  Miinsterberg  and  his  family  saile;^ 
on  the  same  steamer  with  Professor  Small  and  his  wife  and 
daughter,  together  with  Professor  Thomas  Hall  of  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  also  a  participant  in  the 
Congress,  whose  ever  bubbling  Irish  humor  delighted  his 
fellow  passengers,  so  that  the  professorial  party  had  a 
congenial  and  spirited  crossing. 

On  their  return,  the  three  American  scholars  could 
present  the  Exposition  authorities  with  an  impressive  list 
of  foreign  learned  men  who  had  accepted  their  invita- 

106 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

tions.    Secretary  Hay  and  Assistant-Secretary  Loomis  as 
well  as  the  Commissioners-General  to  the  Exposition,  La- 
grave  from  France  and  Lewald  from  Germany,  had  given 
valuable  suggestions  in  regard  to  foreign  participation. 
Now  the  officers  of  the  Congress,  returning  from  their  in- 
vitation tours,  were  able  to  place  on  the  Congressional 
program  the  names  of  such   men  as  the  three  French 
mathematicians,  M.  Gaston  Darboux,  Perpetual  Secretary 
of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  Professor  Emile  Picard,  and 
Professor  Henri  Poincare  of  the  Sorbonne ;  the  historians 
and  theologians,  Harnack,  Pfleiderer,  and  Troeltsch  from 
Berlin  and  Heidelberg ;  the  chemists  Sir  William  Ramsay 
of  London  and  Professor  Van't  Hoff  of  Berlin,  and  Pro- 
f essor  Henri  Moissan  from  the  Sorbonne ;  the  geographers 
Penck  from  Vienna,  Dr.  Hugh  R.  Mill  from  London,  Sir 
John  Murray  from  Edinburgh,  and  Professor  K.  Mitsukuri 
from  the  University  of  Tokio ;  the  Russian  astronomer,  Dr. 
Oskar  Backlund ;  the  psychologists  Hoeffding  from  Copen- 
hagen and  Janet  from  Paris;  Honorable  James  Bryce  from 
London  who  spoke  on  national  administration ;  Waldeyer 
from  Berlin  who  spoke  on  human  anatomy;   Sir  Felix 
Semon   from    London,    Physician    Extraordinary    to    his 
M^esty  the  King,  who  spoke  on  otology  and  laryngology; 
Field  MarshaU  Gustav  Ratzenhofer  from  Vienna  and  Pro- 
fessor Toennies  from  Kiel  who  spoke  on  social  structure; 
Dr.  Emil  Munsterberg,  President  of  City  Chanties  in 
Berlin,  brother  of  Hugo,  who  spoke  on  -The  Dependent 
Group"  in  the  Department  of  Social  Science.    On  the 
list  were  many  others  besides  these  names  mentioned,  of 
equal  renown  and  merit. 

The  next  step  was  to  secure  the  seven  speakers  for  the 
main  divisions  and  the  forty-eight  speakers  for  the  large 
departments,  as  well  as  the  chairmen  for  these  depart- 
ments,  who  were  all  to  be  American  scholars;  also  the 
American  specialists  in  various  fields  who,  together  with 

107 


f 


i 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


U 


the  foreign  gujests,  were  to  contribute  to  the  section  meet- 
ings. In  the  delicate  task  of  choosing  just  the  right  mind 
for  each  place,  the  advice  of  learned  societies  and  heads 
of  universities  was  sought  and  the  responsibility  for  these 
discussions  and  the  invitations  was  shared  by  the  three 
officers  of  the  Congress.  To  Miinsterberg  again  fell  the 
provision  for  the  fields  of  philosophy,  art,  education,  psy- 
chology, and  medicine ;  moreover  he  was  charged  specially 
with  invitations  to  scholars  of  New  England.  The  re- 
sponses from  the  learned  men  at  home  made  a  good  study 
in  comparative  enthusiasm.  On  the  whole,  however,  there 
were  many  more  acceptances  than  declinations.  The  ac- 
ceptances showed"  enthusiasm  for  the  enterprise  and  a 
sense  of  the  honor  of  being  asked  to  contribute  to  its  per- 
fection; the  declinations  were  mostly  on  account  of  ill 
health  or  pressure  of  duties  at  home,  or  in  rare  cases,  as  in 
that  of  William  James,  because  of  the  secluded  scholar  *8 
aversion  to  the  crowds  and  exactions  of  congresses  and 
expositions.  '*I  am  very  sorry  to  be  so  persistently  dis- 
obliging,'' he  wrote  on  a  spontaneous  post-card  from  his 
forest  retreat  in  the  White  Mountains.  '*But  I  have  noth- 
ing, absolutely  nothing  for  which  that  Congress  seems  a 
proper  frame.  ...  As  for  my  brother,  he  is  less  available 
for  St.  Louis  than  I  am.  I  pity  your  Uherhurdtmg.'* 
Absent  though  he  chose  to  remain  himself,  he  gave  Miin- 
sterberg suggestions  for  the  choice  of  philosophers.  **I 
certainly  hope  that  the  thing  may  succeed,  for  the  greater 
honor  of  yourself  and  the  committee,  without  having  to 
resort  to  the  outsiders  and  cranks.''  This  fear,  which  was 
due,  as  James  himself  expressed  it,  to  **the  laziness  of  my 
own  imagination,"  was  unnecessary;  the  International 
Congress  at  St.  Louis  was  unique  for  its  abswice  of  cranks 
and  its  orderly  cooperation  of  recognized  leaders  of 
thought. 

The  earnest  interest  of  the  invited  scholars  was  im- 

108 


\\K 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

mediately  revealed  by  their  responses.    A  few  of  these 
may  be  quoted  at  random. 
Professor  A.  Lawrence  Lowell  of  Harvard  wrote: 

843  Exchange  Building, 
Boston,  January  15 ^  1904 

Dear  Mb.  Mxjnstbbberg  : 

I  feel  very  much  honored  in  being  asked  to  be  one  of 
the  two  American  speakers  on  the  subject  of  political  theory 
at  the  Congress  of  Arts  and  Sciences  at  St.  Louis;  and  the  sub- 
ject of  the  present  problems  in  that  field  would  be  very  attractive 
to  me.    I  therefore  take  great  pleasure  in  accepting. 

Yours  very  truly, 

A.  Lawrence  Lowell 

Professor  Barrett  Wendell,  invited  to  be  Chairman  of 
the  section  on  English  Literature,  responded  with  his 
usual  grace: 

358  Marlborough  Street 
Boston,  25  Feb.,  IdOk 

My  dear  Sir:  i  •  j    • 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  accept  the  very  kmd  in- 
vitation of  the  Congress  of  Arts  and  Sciences  to  be  the  Chair- 
man of  its  Section  English  Literature.  The  only  cloud  on  the 
satisfaction  which  this  honor  brings  me  comes  from  the  news  that 
my  dear  old  friend,  Mr.  Stedman,  who  would  have  filled  the  place 

so  much  more  worthily,  is  unable  to  do  so. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Barrett  Wendell 

Professor  Wendell,  however,  was  prevented  after  all 
from  presiding  over  his  section,  because  of  a  lecture  jour- 
ney to  France. 

President  Woodrow  Wilson  of  Princeton  provided  Mtin- 
sterberg  with  a  full  list  of  the  scholars  at  Princeton  best 
suited  to  speak  with  authority  in  their  special  fields.  He 
was  himself  one  of  the  seven  speakers  for  the  main  divi- 
sions.   Just  before  the  opening  of  the  Congress,  he  wrote: 

109 


I  (I 


WIWP""^^ 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

15  September,  1904 
My  deab  Professor  Munsterbebg: 

I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  letter  of 
September  14th  and  am  most  unaffectedly  sorry  to  find  that  I 
am  already  promised  for  the  evening  of  October  8th.  I  am  on 
that  evening  to  address  the  School  Masters'  Club  of  New  York. 

I  shall  look  forward  with  pleasure  to  seeing  you  in  St.  Louis 
and  cannot  sufficiently  regret  that  my  visit  must  be  only  a  flying 

one. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

WooDROw  Wilson 

Miinsterberg  had  been  happy  to  secure  the  participation 
of  the  Honorable  Andrew  D.  White,  who  only  two  years 
before  the  date  of  the  Congress  had  been  the  distinguished 
Ambassador  to  Berlin,  who  had  previously  been,  together 
with  Ezra  Cornell,  the  founder  of  the  great  University 
at  Ithaca,  New  York,  its  first  president  and  constant  guide 
and  benefactor ;  who  had  combined  in  a  singularly  fruitful 
life  the  excellent  qualities  of  statesman,  educator,  his- 
torian, and  author.  That  Mr.  White  was  later  obliged  to 
withdraw  his  acceptance  was  regarded  as  a  great  loss.  He 
wrote  characteristically : 

September  8,  1904 

Professor  Hugo  Munsterberg,  LL.D., 
Harvard  University, 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
My  dear  Professor  Munsterberg, 

Infinitely  to  my  regret  and  with  the  greatest  reluctance, 
I  am  compelled  to  inform  you  that  I  cannot  be  present  at  the 
meetings  proposed  at  St.  Louis,  to  which  you  have  so  kindly  in- 
vited me  and  in  which  you  have  assigned  me  so  honorable  and 
attractive  a  place. 

The  simple  facts  are  that  returning  to  America  this  spring  after 
my  seven  years'  absence,  I  found  a  ^eat  mass  of  deferred  matters 
of  business,  including  sundry  very  important  legal  proceedings, 
awaiting  me,  as  well  as  certain  pledges  of  literary  work  which  had 
to  be  redeemed.    I  have  been  obliged  to  give  considerable  at- 

110 


IH 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

tention  to  these  and  to  work  steadily  through  the  sunmier.  The 
result  is  that  I  am  in  no  condition  to  go  to  St.  Louis,  and  under 
advice,  indeed  under  strict  orders  from  my  physician,  am  forced 
to  give  up  for  the  time  being  everything  which  will  affect  me  or 
prevent  proper  repose.  Were  I  a  younger  man  I  would  break 
away  in  spite  of  these  orders,  but  at  seventy-two  years  of  age, 
with  much  unfinished  work  upon  my  hands,  I  dare  not. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  trust  that  you  and  your  colleagues 
will  excuse  me.  I  must  throw  myself  upon  y^jjr  forbearance 
but  I  feel  you  will  easily  find  some  one  who  ^11  discharge  the 
honorable  duties  very  much  better  than  I  could  possibly  do  in 
my  present  condition.  Will  you  kindly  infonn  yo^^  ^ssocia^^es 
7Ir  me,  conveying  to  them  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  honor  they 

have  done  me,  and 

I  remain, 

Most  respectftdly  and  smcerely  yours. 

And.  D.  White 

It  was  vouchsafed  the  venerable  scholar  to  live  four- 
teen more  fruitful  years  and  to  survive  by  two  years  the 
younger  colleague  to  whom  this  letter  was  addressed. 

A  noteworthy  company  of  American  scholars  m  all 
branches  of  learning  finaUy  assembled  at  St.  Louis.    The 
speakers  for  the  seven  large  divisions  were  the  following: 
for  normative  science,  Professor  Josiah  Royce,  Harvard  s 
profound  ideaUstic  philosopher;  for  historical  science 
President  Woodrow  Wilson  of  Princeton  University;  for 
physical  science.  Professor  Robert  S.  Woodward  of  Colum- 
bia University ;  for  mental  science.  President  G.  Stanley 
Hall  of  Clark  University ;  for  utilitarian  sciences  President 
David  Starr  Jordan  of  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University; 
for  social  regulation.  Professor  Abbott  Lawrence  L^ell 
of  Harvard  University;  and  for  social  culture  the  Hon- 
orable William  T.  Harris,  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education.    Beside  the  chief  speakers  on  the  program,  a 
considerable  number  of  specialists  were  ad^ed  to  read  ten. 
minute  papers  at  the  section  meetings  whidi  If  «*  three 
hours  each;  of  such  papers  there  were  102.    Invitations 

111 


HUGO  MUNSTERBBRG 

to  attend  the  Congress  had  been  sent  to  scientific  societies, 
to  college  faculties,  and  all  appropriate  bodies,  and 
personal  letters  had  even  been  sent  to  leading  members 
of  the  sciences  and  professions. 

The  Congress  met  at  St.  Louis  in  the  week  of  September 
19-25.  Other  Congresses  met  there  purposely  at  the  same 
time ;  the  International  Geographic  Congress  had  adjourned 
from  Washington  to  St.  Louis  to  enable  its  members  to 
attend  the  Congress  of  Arts  and  Science.  A  reception 
committee  had  been  formed  at  New  York  as  well  as  at 
St.  Louis  in  order  to  welcome  the  foreign  guests.  The 
courtesies  of  the  Century  and  the  University  Clubs  were 
extended  to  the  visitors  and  all  possible  attention  shown 
the  scholars  who  had  torn  themselves  away  from  their  quiet 
productive  work  to  exchange  ideas  in  what  must  have 
seemed  to  them  a  very  remote  spot.  On  their  way  to 
St.  Louis  some  of  them  stopped  at  Chicago,  where  they 
were  entertained  by  President  Harper  of  Chicago  Univer- 
sity and  Professor  Small.  At  St.  Louis  prominent  citizens 
most  hospitably  opened  their  houses  to  the  guests  of  the 
Congress  who  brought  their  wives  or  other  family  members 
with  them.  Those  who  came  singly  were  housed  in  the 
dormitories  of  Washington  University.  It  was  no  easy 
task  to  insure  not  only  the  smooth  carrying  out  of  the 
scholarly  program,  but  the  comfort  and  good  cheer  of  the 
guests  in  the  September  heat  of  St.  Louis  and  amid  the 
tangle  and  swarm  of  a  World's  Fair.  Dr.  L.  0.  Howard, 
who  brought  with  him  much  experience  as  Permanent 
Secretary  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  was  appointed  Executive  Secretary  and 
provided  with  a  bureau  and  staff.  He  and  Dr.  H.  J. 
Rogers  shared  the  labor  of  managing  the  details  of  the 
business  and  the  entertaining. 

It  may  well  be  imagined  that  Miinsterberg  took  an 
active  and  enthusiastic  part  in  promoting  the  spirit  of 

112 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

good  fellowship  among  the  guests,  particularly  among  those 
whom  he  had  invited,  and  he  rejoiced  to  see  their  com- 
bined efforts  crowned  by  success.  The  formal  opening  of 
the  Congress  took  place  at  2.30  on  September  19,  in 
Festival  Hall.  In  the  words  of  Howard  J.  Rogers,  who 
has  written  the  history  of  the  Congress: 

In  the  audience  were  the  members  of  the  Congress  represent- 
ing the  selected  talent  of  the  world  in  their  field  of  scientific  en- 
deavor, and  about  them  were  grouped  an  audience  drawn  from 
every  part  of  the  United  States  to  promote  by  their  presence  the 
success  of  the  Congress  and  to  do  honor  to  the  noted  personages 
who  were  the  guests  of  the  Exposition  and  of  the  Nation. 

The  organ  played  the  national  airs  of  the  various  coun^ 
tries  whose  scholarship  was  represented  at  the  Congress 
and  closed  with  the  national  anthem  of  the  United  States. 
Dr.  Rogers  presided,  and  the  first  speaker  was  President 
Francis  of  the  Exposition,  who  spoke  on  the  aims  of  the 
St.  Louis  World's  Fair  and  welcomed  the  International 
Congress.    He  ended  with  these  words: 

May  the  atmosphere  of  this  universal  exposition,  charged  as  it 
is  with  the  restless  energies  of  every  phase  of  human  activity  and 
permeated  by  that  ineffable  sentiment  of  universal  brotherhood 
engendered  by  the  intelligent  sons  of  God,  congregatmg  for  the 
friendly  rivalries  of  peace,  inspire  you  with  even  higher  thoughts 
—imbue  you  with  still  broader  sympathies,  to  the  end  that  by 
your  future  labors  you  may  be  still  more  helpful  to  the  human 
race  and  place  your  fellow  men  under  yet  deeper  obligations. 

Then  Frederick  J.  V.  Skiff,  Director  of  Exhibits,  spoke 
of  the  harmony  between  the  exhibitions  and  the  Congress. 
In  his  speech  he  said: 

The  plane  upon  which  the  Congress  had  been  inaugurated, 
the  aim,  the  broad  intent,  seemed  beyond  the  merits,  if  not 
beyond  the  capacity,  of  this  hitherto  not  widely  recognized 
inteUectual    center.    But   the    courage   of    the   ^noepUon,    the 


HUGO  MiJNSTERBERG 

loftiness  of  the  purpose,  appealed  so  profoundly  to  the  toilers 
for  truth  and  the  apostles  of  fact,  that  we  find  gathered  here 
to-day  in  the  heart  of  the  new  Western  continent  the  great 
minds  whose  impression  on  society  has  rendered  possible  the 
intellectual  heights  to  which  this  age  has  ascended  and  now 
beckon  forward  the  students  of  the  world  to  limitless  possibil- 
ities. 

Later  he  said : 

This  universal  exposition  is  a  world's  university.  The  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Arts  and  Sciences  contitutes  the  faculty;  the 
material  on  exhibition  are  the  laboratories  and  the  museums;  the 
students  are  mankind. 

Replies  to  these  addresses  of  welcome  were  made  by  the 
honorary  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Congress  who  were  rep- 
resentatives of  foreign  countries.  Each  spoke  with  en- 
thusiasm for  the  common  enterprise  from  the  special  point 
of  view  of  the  country  he  represented.  First  spoke  Sir 
William  Ramsay,  in  place  of  the  Honorable  James  Bryce, 
the  first  of  the  honorary  Vice-Presidents,  after  him  Pro- 
fessor Jean  Gaston  Darboux,  Perpetual  Secretary  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris,  Professor  Wilhelm  Waldeyer 
of  Berlin,  Dr.  Theodore  Escherich  of  Vienna,  Dr.  Oskar 
Backlund  of  the  Astronomical  Observatory  at  Pulkowa, 
Russia,  Professor  Nobushige  Hozumi  of  Tokio,  Japan,  and 
finally  Signor  Attilio  Brunialti.  The  Chairman  of  the 
Administrative  Board,  President  Butler,  was  unavoidably 
absent;  so  in  his  place  President  Harper  spoke  on  the 
idea  and  growth  of  the  Congress  and  the  work  of  the 
Board. 

After  these  preliminary  speeches,  Professor  Newcomb 
gave  the  first  address  of  the  Congress  proper,  which  was 
intended  as  an  introduction  to  all  the  lectures  that  were 
to  follow.  It  was  on  *'The  Evolution  of  the  Scientific 
Investigator,''  a  historical  address,  beautiful  in  the  clear- 
ness of  the  presentation,  wide  in  its  scope  and  precise  in 

114 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

its  detail,  as  only  the  address  of  a  philosophical  and  broad- 
minded  scholar  can  be. 

The  following  day  was  devoted  to  the  speakers  for  the 
seven  main  divisions  and  for  the  twenty-four  departments, 
for  each  of  which  one  lecturer  spoke  on  the  fundamentals 
and  methods  of  the  subject,  and  another  on  its  history 
and   development   during;  the   last   century.    The   other 
days  of  the  week  were  given  over  to  section  meetings  at 
which  the  foreign  guests  shared  the  work  with  the  Ameri- 
can scholars;   and  on  Saturday  the  program  had  been 
covered,  except  for  the  section  meetings  on  Religious  In- 
fluence, which  were  appropriately  given  on   Sunday  in 
Festival  Hall.    Professor  Small  gave  a  review  of  the  week's 
accomplishment  and  the  Congress  was  closed.    The  lectures, 
each  read  once  in  a  fleeting  hour,  were  gathered  together 
as  the  property  of  the  Congress  and  preserved  in  lasting 
form  in  eight  substantial  volumes  edited  by  Mr.  Rogers 
and  published  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.    These  include 
also  a  history  of  the  Congress  by  the  editor  and  an  ex- 
position of  *'The  Scientific  Plan  of  the  Congress"  by 
Hugo  Miinsterberg. 

The  academic  work  of  the  Congress  was  accompanied  by 
brilliant  festivities  that  had  for  a  background  the  mag- 
nificent buildings  of  the  World's  Fair.  On  the  opening 
Monday  night  of  the  Congress  a  *' lagoon  fete"  was  held 
on  the  Exposition  grounds  during  which  the  Grand  Basin 
was  magically  illuminated;  a  brilliant  garden  fete  was 
given  to  the  members  of  the  Congress  at  the  French 
National  Pavilion  by  the  Commissioner-General  from 
France,  and  Commissioner-General  Lewald  entertained  the 
same  guests  at  the  beautiful  German  ** State  House."  It 
was  thought  most  fit  that  in  this  year,  so  memorable  to 
St.  Louis,  the  **Shaw  banquet"— a  dinner  given  annually 
to  men  of  science,  letters,  and  affairs,  as  provided  by  the 
will  of  Henry  B.  Shaw,  the  founder  of  the  Missouri  Botani- 

115 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

cal  Gardens— should  be  given  in  honor  of  the  foreign 
scholars.  The  crowning  festivity  was  the  general  dinner 
to  the  speakers  and  officials  of  the  Congress  in  the  banquet- 
hall  of  the  *' Tyrolean  Alps."  A  rare  company  was 
gathered  there,  a  congregation  of  distinguished  minds  in- 
carnate. With  the  sense  of  having  accomplished  harmoni- 
ously a  unique  task,  the  spirits  of  the  participants  were 
high  and  the  toasts  inspired.  These  were  spoken  by  Presi- 
dent Francis,  by  James  Bryce,  by  Professor  Darboux,  who 
alluded  gracefully  to  the  transfer  of  the  beautiful  terri- 
tory of  Louisiana,  which  was  being  commemorated  by  the 
World's  Fair.  There  were  speeches  also  by  Commissioner- 
General  Lewald  who  dwelt  on  the  large  contribution  of 
German  universities  to  the  educational  department  of  the 
Exposition,  and  ended  with  a  toast  to  the  *  *  continued  cor- 
dial relations  of  Germany  and  America  through  its  uni- 
versity circles  and  scientific  endeavors."  Other  toasts 
were  spoken  by  the  eloquent  Italian  delegate  Signor  At- 
tilio  Brunialti  and  by  the  Japanese  Professor  Hotzumi. 
The  latter  made  a  remark  on  this  occasion  that  roused 
the  united  enthusiasm  of  the  assembly  and  that  Miinster- 
berg  took  great  pleasure  in  recalling  long  after  the  Con- 
gress was  over.  At  a  moment  when  the  Russo-Japanese 
war  was  being  fought,  the  Japanese  scholar  said  that 
**of  all  places  where  men  meet,  and  of  all  places  sunned 
by  the  light  of  heaven,  this  great  Congress,  built  on  the 
high  plane  of  the  brotherhood  of  science  and  the  fellow- 
ship of  scholars,  was  the  only  place  where  a  Japanese  and 
a  Russian  could  meet  in  mutual  accord,  with  a  common 
purpose,  and  clasp  hands  in  unity  of  thought." 

Such  a  sentiment  must  convince  one  of  the  real  worth 
of  international  gatherings  for  intellectual  purposes,  even 
in  the  face  of  skeptics.  If  only  a  tenth  of  the  energy  and 
treasure  spent  on  international  destruction  could  be  spent 
on  international  approach  through  the  channels  of  science, 

116 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

art,  and  literature— how  much  nearer  the  nations  would 
be  to  that  ideal  of  harmony  longed  for  by  all,  but  never 

attained ! 

Miinsterberg  in  the  course  of  the  Congress  had  found  not 
only  deep  satisfaction  in  its  success  and  in  seeing  his  ideal 
conception  realized,  but  he  had  gained  much  pleasure  of 
a  more  intimate  and  private  nature.  It  was  a  delight 
to  clasp  hands  again  with  colleagues  from  across  the  sea 
whom  he  had  invited,  several  of  whom  were  good  friends. 
During  the  summer,  before  the  opening  of  the  Congress,  he 
had  received  genial  visits  from  three  of  these  scholars  and, 
above  all,  had  the  happiness  of  welcoming  his  brother 

Emil. 

When  the  Congress  had  adjourned,  the  foreign  guests 
still  had  receptions  awaiting  them  at  Washington,  at 
Boston,  especially  at  Harvard,  and  finally  in  New  Haven 
as  guests  of  President  Hadley  of  Yale  University.  At 
Washington  it  gave  Miinsterberg  pleasure  to  introduce  the 
visitors,  at  a  reception  at  the  White  House,  to  President 
Roosevelt,  who  had  a  warm  welcome  for  the  scholars, 
particularly  his  fellow  historians. 

It  was  on  the  whole  a  gratified,  earnestly  interested,  and 
in  part  enthusiastic  company  that  arrived  at  Boston  in  the 
first  week  of  October,  where  it  was  entertained  by  Harvard 
University  and  in  Munsterberg 's  house.  When  the  last 
functions  relating  to  the  Congress  were  over,  there  re- 
mained for  Munsterberg  his  share  in  the  task  of  organiz- 
ing the  publication  of  the  addresses,  considerable  fatigue 
from  the  exertions  of  the  past  weeks,  and  a  happy  memory 
of  an  enterprise  conceived  with  ardor  and  achieved  with 
success,  and  a  strong  hope  for  good  fruits  of  the  seed 
sown  at   St.  Louis  and  for  a  lasting  good-will  among 

learned  men. 

During  the  years  between  the  autumn  of  1902  and  that 
of  1905  Miinsterberg  received  many  interesting  guests 

117 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

in  his  house  besides  those  connected  with  the  Congress. 
It  was  during  the  earlier  visit,  in  1902,  of  the  anatomist 
Waldeyer  from  Berlin,  that  the  first  definite  discussions 
took  place  about  the  advisability  of  a  professorial  ex- 
change between  Harvard  and  Berlin  Universities.  The 
conception  of  an  intellectual  exchange  had  originated  four 
years  earlier,  at  the  time  of  Baron  von  HoUeben's  visit 
to  Miinsterberg,  when  the  latter  proposed  to  the  ambas- 
sador some  institution  that  would,  in  a  serious  and  sys- 
tematic way,  promote  academic  intercourse  between  the 
two  countries.  For  this  plan,  Miinsterberg 's  friend  and 
colleague.  Professor  Kuno  Francke,  had  much  enthusiasm, 
and  both  he  and  Miinsterberg  interested  Dr.  Althoff  in  it, 
although  all  those  who  favored  the  project  did  not  have  in 
mind  exactly  the  same  forms  of  exchange.  As  the  profes- 
sorial exchange  came  to  be  an  established  institution  three 
years  later,  it  would  be  well  at  this  point  to  glance  at  the 
cross-currents  of  opinion. 

Miinsterberg,  from  the  start,  believed  that  an  exchange 
of  students  would  be  more  fruitful  than  an  exchange  of 
professors.  A  student,  more  especially  an  advanced  stu- 
dent, equipped  with  the  necessary  will  power  and  en- 
thusiasm, could  readily  enter  into  the  atmosphere  of  the 
foreign  university  and  absorb  all  possible  inspiration  from 
it,  while  he  was  gaining  expert  instruction  from  masters 
in  his  line;  but  a  professor  who  spoke  a  strange  language 
and  who  joined  the  faculty  of  the  foreign  university  only 
for  a  brief  period  could  not  hope  to  enjoy  the  same  sphere 
of  influence  as  the  native  professor  who  already  had  his 
accustomed  groove  in  the  academic  routine  and  who,  above 
all,  addressed  the  students  in  their  own  tongue.  When, 
after  all,  the  idea  of  a  professorial  exchange,  rather  than 
a  students*  exchange,  proved  to  be  the  one  that  found  the 
most  approval,  Miinsterberg  did  his  best  to  promote  it. 
He  did  try,  however,  to  prevent  certain  aspects  of  it  that 

118 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

he  believed  were  bound  to  produce  unfavorable  results. 
Thus  he  urged  that  the  professor  sent  from  Germany — it 
was  decided  that,  although  Berlin  managed  the  exchange, 
the  scholar  sent  might  be  from  any  Prussian  university— 
by  all  means  should  be  a  professor  of  Germanic  language 
or  literature,  because  a  lecturer  in  any  other  field  would 
attract  too  small  a  number  of  students  because  of  the 
barrier  of   language.     Miinsterberg  warned  also   against 
possible  disappointment  because  of  the  difference  in  social 
life  at  Berlin  and  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.    At  Ber- 
lin the  visiting  guest  was  considered,  more  or  less,  the 
guest  of  the  state,  entertained  by  high  officials  of  the 
state  as  well  as  of  the  University,  was  given  guest  privi- 
leges at  the  royal  opera  and  theater,  besides  having  at  his 
disposal  the  sights  and  sounds  of  a  metropolis.    In  Cam- 
bridge there  was  no  effort  at  official  entertaining,  there 
was  the  material  disadvantage  of  the  absence  of  hotels  and 
suitable  quarters,  and  the  quiet  charm  of  Cambridge  life 
was  one  that  required  more  than  an  academic  half-year 
to  appreciate.    Notwithstanding  these  warnings.  Presi- 
dent Eliot  approved  of  the  plan,   as  it  was  afterward 
carried  out,  of  sending  an  eminent  professor  from  Har- 
vard to  Berlin  University  for  an  academic  half-year,  and 
a  professor  from  a  German  university  to  Harvard  for  the 
same  length  of  time.    After  this  scheme  was  once  decided 
upon,  Miinsterberg  endeavored  to  have  it  carried  out  as 
successfully  as  possible. 

Another  guest  whom  Miinsterberg  received  in  his  house, 
was  Carl  Schurz.  He  was  then  very  old,  but  full  of 
kindliness,  geniality,  and  charm,  which  endeared  him  to 
all  who  knew  him  and  gave  special  joy  to  Miinsterberg 
who  had  always  admired  him  profoundly. 

On  October  22,  1903,  memorial  services  in  honor  of 
Frederick  William  Holls  were  held  at  Columbia  Univer- 
sity.   It  was  an  impressive  ceremony  at  which  a  bust  of 

119 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

the  beloved  deceased  was  dedicated  to  the  Faculty  of 
Political  Economy  at  Columbia.  President  Butler  pre- 
sided and  the  memorial  addresses  were  spoken  by  two 
warm  friends  and  admirers  of  HoUs — ^Ambassador  Andrew 
D.  White  and  Hugo  Miinsterberg. 

It  was  in  the  year  1904  that  the  Germanic  Museum  at 
Harvard  was  formally  opened.  The  collection,  including 
the  large  gift  from  Germany,  was  housed  only  provision- 
ally in  a  vacant  building,  once  the  Gymnasium,  opposite 
Memorial  Hall.  At  the  opening  the  first  Secretary  of 
the  German  Embassy,  Mr.  Busche-Haddenhausen,  was 
present  and  made  a  further  offering  of  gifts  for  the  Social 
Museum.  On  this  occasion  Miinsterberg  delivered  an  ad- 
dress. 

A  year  later,  in  March,  1905,  Miinsterberg  was  invited 
by  the  Cosmopolitan  Club  of  Detroit,  a  club  including  in 
its  membership  the  leading  professional  men  and  men  of 
affairs  of  that  city,  to  deliver  an  address  at  one  of  its 
meetings  that  took  the  form  of  a  banquet.  The  Harvard 
psychologist  proposed  to  speak  on  a  scientific  subject;  the 
Club  insisted,  however,  that  he  should  present  them  with 
the  substance  of  his  new  book  The  Americans.  This  book 
was  the  translation  of  a  German  book  in  which  he  had 
given  enthusiastic  interpretations  of  the  essential  features 
of  American  life.  Miinsterberg  complied  with  the  wishes 
of  the  club,  and  the  address  was  received  with  warm  ap- 
plause. Inspired  by  Miinsterberg 's  speech,  there  arose  a 
brisk  discussion  at  the  banquet  table,  which  was  destined 
to  kindle  a  wildfire  of  newspaper  sensation  throughout  the 
country.  The  discussion  hinged  round  a  comparison  of 
the  monarchical  with  the  republican  form  of  government, 
and,  in  the  course  of  the  debate,  Miinsterberg  remarked 
about  Roosevelt  what  he  had  already  said  in  his  book, 
namely,  that  **  never  in  his  speeches  or  writings  had  he 
cited  that  sociaUy  equalizing  Declaration  of  Independ- 

120 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

ence.''  In  a  previous  speech,  a  democratic  Congressman, 
when  warmly  defending  Jeffersonian  principles,  said  that 
he  knew  of  certain  people  in  high  official  circles  at 
Washington  who  looked  upon  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence as  made  up  of  ** glittering  generalities.''  These  two 
statements  were  mixed  in  characteristic  sensation-monger 
fashion  and  the  publicity  of  the  discussion  was  perversely 
enhanced  by  the  fact  that  before  mentioning  some  con- 
versation between  himself  and  Roosevelt,  Miinsterberg 
asked  that  his  remarks  be  considered  private  and  not 
published  by  the  press. 

Miinsterberg  left  the  Club  in  good  spirits,  satisfied  with 
an  evening  full  of  stimulus.    Great  was  his  consterna- 
tion, therefore,  when  the  next  morning  he  found  the  De- 
troit papers  full  of  startling  headlines  with  the  news  of 
his  statement  that  Roosevelt  had  called  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  nothing  but  glittering  generalities.    Nor, 
as  he  found  out  soon  enough,  was  this  news  confined  to 
Detroit  papers,  but  flashed  to  all  leading  news  centers 
throughout  the  country.    Reporters  besieged  the  Detroit 
hotel,  where  Miinsterberg  was  staying  a  day  longer,  be- 
cause he  had  promised  to  speak  on  Schiller  to  a  German 
society,   ** Harmonic,"   in  the  evening.     Telegrams   from 
all  points  between  the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic  poured  in. 
Never  in  all  his  varied  contact  with  the  press  had  the 
guileless  savant  been  so  distressed  by  misrepresentation. 
After  he  left  Detroit,  the  papers  continued  the  storm 
with  such  headlines  as  *' Declaration  of  1776  scorned?" 
'* Country  is  Stirred  up  by  Speech,"  **Says  Roosevelt 
Knocked   Declaration  of  Independence,"   "Miinsterberg 
makes  Defense"  etc.    His  explanation,  to  be  sure,  was 
printed,  too,  but  it  requires  little  knowledge  of  the  psy- 
chology of  the  newspaper  reader  to  know  that  the  first 
shocking  impression  of  the  loud  headline  lingers  in  the 
mind  and  the  sober  explanation  is  forgotten.    The  banquet 

121 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

at  the  Cosmopolitan  Club  not  only  provided  the  papers 
with  news  items,  but  inspired  numerous  editorials  which, 
read  in  the  present,  after  so  many  momentous  changes 
have  taken  place  in  the  political  arena,  throw  light  on 
the  opinions  of  that  time.  An  editorial  of  the  Detroit 
Journal  ended  in  this  way: 

Whether  or  not  Mr.  Roosevelt  went  as  far  as  the  professor's 
remarks  imply  that  he  went  in  disparaging  certain  conceptions 
and  certain  phraseology  contained  in  that  immortal  instrument, 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  is  not  particularly  important. 

We  all  know  that  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  author  of  that  instru- 
ment, does  not  appeal  to  Mr.  Roosevelt.  He  seems  to  take  a 
delight  in  playing  the  iconoclast  with  this  idol  of  the  American* 
people.  He  ridicules  Jefferson's  horror  of  militarism  and  great 
love  for  peace  and  in  fact  practically  all  ideas  that  may  be  clas- 
sified as  distinctively  Jeffersonian. 

However,  we  may  be  content  in  the  assurance  that,  ambitious 
as  he  is  in  a  literary  way,  Mr.  Roosevelt  will  never  write  any- 
thing that  will  exert  so  profound  an  influence  on  the  destiny  of 
the  peoples  of  the  whole  world,  including  Mr.  Roosevelt  him- 
self, for  without  that  Declaration  of  Independence  Mr.  Roose- 
velt wouldn't  even  have  a  country  to  be  president  over. 

Another  editorial  in  the  Detroit  Tribune: 

What  a  tempest  in  a  teapot  has  been  raised  by  a  chance  remark 
by  my  old  friend.  Dr.  Hugo  Munsterberg.  Detroiters  are  actually 
taking  sides  to  discuss  whether  or  not  social  and  political  in- 
dependence is  truly  realized  in  free  America.  To  my  mind  the 
worst  detail  of  the  unhappy  affair  is  that  Miinsterberg's  private 
club  talk  has  been  telegraphed  around  the  world.  What  a  breach 
of  etiquette,  to  say  nothing  about  good  breeding !  It 's  going  to 
be  so,  by  and  by,  that  a  chap  daren't  say  anything  in  confidence 
at  his  club.  He  '11  wake  up  to  find  it  in  the  newspapers.  Club- 
babble  fellows  ought  to  permit  the  widest  latitudes  of  speech ;  and 
if  Miinsterberg  sticks  a  few  pins  into  American  social  tendencieS| 
that  is,  our  striving  toward  aristocracy,  why,  let  him  do  it!  .  .  . 

Come  now,  let  us  be  frank,  just  among  ourselves.  Isn't  it 
true  that  the  poor  Polish  laborer,  who  shovels  the  snow  in  front 
of  Mr.  Russel's  house  this  winter,  is  as  good  as  Mr.  Russelt 

122 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

"Ahem,  well,  yes,  the  fellow  is  as  good"  I  hear  some  one  reply, 

"that  is,  as  good  as,  well,  politically,  don't  you  know,  but  other- 

•        »t 

wise — 

Yes,  of  course;  we  thought  so. 

Gentlemen,  Detroit  women  have  more  common  sense  about 
these  things!  They  do  not  lose  their  heads  about  a  lot  of  "in 
free  America"  glittering  generalities.  Let  us  be  honest.  A  man 
need  n't  be  less  a  lover  of  his  country  to  concede,  if  he  has  an  eye 
in  his  head  to  see,  that  American  women  are  united  on  this 
little  matter  of  social  inequality.  Getting  on  in  the  world,  climb- 
ing, is  mighty  serious  business  with  the  women ;  and  they  do  not 
take  refuge  in  stuff  about  fundamental  political  principles.  The 
humblest  shop  girl  in  Detroit  already  dreams  of  the  time  when 
she  is  to  ride  in  her  own  private  carriage.  If  it  be  treason  for 
Miinsterberg  to  chaff  us,  gently,  on  this  seeming  contradiction  of 
American  social  equality— make  the  most  of  it!  However  the 
men  may  puff  and  huff  and  try  to  blow  Munsterberg's  argument 
aside,  the  women,  I  am  sure,  will  be  quietly  laughing  in  their 
sleeves  and  agreeing  with  the  Harvard  savant. 

The  New  York  Sun  summed  up  the  situation  with 
characteristic  aptitude: 

Prof.  Miinsterberg  in  his  speech  before  the  Cosmopolitan  Gub 
at  Detroit  brought  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  its  rela- 
tion to  American  ideals  of  to-day  into  rather  sudden  prominence. 
The  professor  was  quoted  and  misquoted  until  he  was  accused 
of  declaring  the  national  document  a  mass  of  glittering  general- 
ities, and  of  implying  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
held  the  same  opinion.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  lecturer  gave  a 
brief  summary  of  his  book.  The  Americans,  as  he  was  asked  to 
do,  in  which  he  stands  on  record  as  pronouncing  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  "a  corollary  of  that  system  of  moral  ideals  which 
is  indissolubly  combined  with  the  American  character,"  and  ^s 
for  what  the  President  thinks  about  it.  Prof.  Munsterberg  confines 
himself  to  stating  that  "never  in  his  speeches  or  his  writings  has 
he  cited  it."  However,  in  the  avalanche  of  telegrams  which  fol- 
lowed the  speech  from  friends  and  enemies  of  the  Declaration  o£ 
Independence  and  of  President  Roosevelt,  there  were  $24  worth 

marked  "collect." 

123 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

During  the  years  chronicled  in  this  chapter,  Miinster- 
berg  became  a  member  of  various  clubs  and  societies.  He 
was  never  a  clubman,  however,  and,  preferred  to  spend 
his  evenings  with  his  family  and  his  books.  Therefore 
those  clubs  that  are  popular  chiefly  as  convenient  quarters 
or  as  meeting  places  had  no  interest  for  him.  Societies, 
however,  in  which  opportunity  was  given,  now  and  then, 
to  exchange  ideas  either  with  colleagues  or  with  original 
and  distinguished  men,  Miinsterberg  enjoyed  as  well  as 
purely  social  functions.  It  was  in  November,  1902,  that 
he  became  a  member  of  the  Thursday  Evening  Club,  that 
characteristically  Bostonian  society  in  which  the  leading 
professional  men,  scholars,  and  authors  among  its  members 
provided  the  stimulus  and  inspiration  in  the  form  of 
lectures,  and  the  men  of  wealth  the  entertainment  in  their 
houses. 

The  Clover  Club  in  Philadelphia,  whose  most  cordial 
hospitality  he  enjoyed  in  a  later  year,  Miinsterberg  re- 
membered pleasantly  and  used  to  quote  its  motto  with  a 
special  glee: 

When  we  live,  we  live  in  clover, 
When  we  die,  we  die  all  over. 

That  Miinsterberg  belonged  to  scientific  organizations 
is  a  matter  of  course.  His  presidency  in  1898  of  the 
American  Psychological  Association  has  already  been  men- 
tioned. In  1901  the  Philosophical  Association  was  formed 
and  Miinsterberg  joined  it,  for  he  always  felt  himself  one 
of  the  family  of  philosophers,  though  ofiicially  he  filled 
the  Chair  of  Psychology  at  Harvard.  It  was  character- 
istic of  James  that  he  declined  to  join  not  only  because 
of  ill  health,  but  also  because  he  considered  philosophy 
**a  lone  beast  that  avoids  crowds.**  Of  the  Association 
Miinsterberg  was  to  be  President  in  1908. 

124 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 


In  1900  Miinsterberg  was  made  non-resident  member  of 
the  Washington  Academy  of  Sciences.  In  1902  he  was 
elected  Fellow  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  of  which  Alexander  Agassiz  was  President;  in 
1903  the  Society  for  Experimental  Biology  and  Medicine 
elected  Miinsterberg  to  membership.  He  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Boston  Authors'  Clifb  and,  several  years  later, 
charter  member  of  the  Poetry  Society  of  America. 

Into  the  serenity  of  this  industrious  and  happy  life 
there  fell  like  a  bombshell  that  torture  of  the  human 
mind — the  necessity  of  making  a  quick  and  vital  decision. 
On  March  14,  1905,  Miinsterberg  received  a  call  to  fill 
the  chair  of  Philosophy  at  the  University  of  Konigsberg, 
the  chair  once  occupied  by  Immanuel  Kant.    Miinster- 
berg felt  the  honor  of  such  a  call,  and  the  thought  of 
teaching  on  the  very  spot  where  the  father  of  modern 
idealistic  philosophy  had  spoken  his  classic  words,  of  be- 
coming, as  it  were,  one  of  his  successors — this  thought 
had  a  most  powerful  attraction.    Added  to  this  symbolic 
aspect  was  the  nearness  of  Konigsberg  to  his  old  home, 
Danzig,  where  his  oldest  brother  was  still  living.    Above 
all,  he  had  hoped  to  end  his  career  and  his  life  in  the 
land  of  his  birth  and  his  youth,  and  now  the  door  was 
open  wide  for  his  return.     His  brothers  immediately  cabled 
their  delight  at  the  prospect  of  his  return,  and  advised 
him  to  accept  the  call.     His  old  friend  Heinrich  Rickert 
who  had  taught  philosophy  tranquilly  in  the  Black  Forest 
town  while  Miinsterberg   had   found   a  new  home,   new 
friends,  new  labors  across  the  sea,  now  cabled  these  words : 
''Accept  for  the  sake  of  German  scholarship."    And  Miin- 
sterberg accepted.    He  accepted  under  certain  conditions, 
which  were  likely  to  be  fulfilled;  one  of  these  was  his  re- 
maining at  Harvard  until  the  spring  of  the  following  year, 
because  he  could  not  possibly  leave  Harvard  at  the  very 
moment  when  Etoerson  Hall,  for  which  he  had  toiled  so 

125 


HUGO  MtlNSTERBERG 

long,  was  to  be  dedicated.  It  was  on  March  30  that  he 
sent  his  conditional  acceptance.  Then  something  happened 
that  Miinsterberg  has  thus  told  of  in  his  reminiscences : 

At  the  beginning  of  the  century  the  University  of  Konigs- 
berg  called  me.  It  was  near  to  my  beloved  Danzig  home,  and  it 
was  the  chair  of  the  great  Immanuel  Kant;  that  fascinated  me, 
and  I  cabled  that  I  should  probably  accept.  But  then  Josiah 
Royce  sat  with  me  a  long  Sunday  morning  and  insisted  that  it 
was  my  higher  duty  to  stand  by  my  Harvard  post.  Others  might 
fill  that  German  chair,  he  said,  but  here  I  was  needed  for  more 
than  the  mere  professional  work.  The  philosopher  must  not  be 
a  patriot  only,  but  at  the  same  time  a  citizen  of  the  spiritual 
world  in  all  lands,  and  I  should  be  among  true  friends  here 
my  life  long.  That  night  I  sent  a  second  telegram  declining 
the  calL 

This  was  a  momentous  decision  in  Miinsterberg 's  life, 
more  momentous  for  his  future  than  he  could  dream— for 
that  future,  which  was  to  bring  him  many  precious  ties, 
work  more  and  more  absorbing,  numberless  joys  and  un- 
foreseen problems  of  infinite  complexity. 

In  America,  and  especially  at  Harvard,  his  decision  was 
hailed  with  hearty  approval.  A  few  letters  of  that  time 
reflect  the  prevailing  sentiment. 

Professor  Palmer  wrote: 


11  Quincy  Street, 
Cambridge 
April  12 

Dear  Dr.  MiJNSXERBERG : 

You  must  know  how  happy  your  note  makes  me.  It  insures 
the  continuance  of  affectionate  ties  which  have  grown  closer 
with  every  year.  Now  you  will  be  ours  permanently.  And 
I  cannot  believe  you  would  have  found  any  such  opportunity 
for  scholarly  or  public  work  in.  Konigaberg  as  Cambridge 
affords.  We  are  pretty  near  the  center  of  the  earth.  It  isn't 
suitable  to  confine  a  man  like  you  to  some  spot  on  its  circum- 
ference.   So  I  can  allow  myself  to  believe  that  public  advan- 

126 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

tage  here  harmonizes  with  our  private  desires  and  can  be  deeply 
glad  that  we  are  to  continue  a  united  family. 

Affectionately  yours, 

G.  H.  Palmer 

The  attitude  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  was  thus  ex- 
pressed by  one  of  them,  H.  P.  Walcott : 

Cambridge, 
12  April,  1905 

Dear  Professor  Munsterberg: 

I  have  received  your  note  of  11  April. 

The  very  flattering  invitation  to  Konigsberg  must  have  been 
most  attractive  to  you,  and  I  can  [imagine]  how  you  must  have 
hesitated  about  declining  it.  ^   r.  - 

I  hope,  most  sincerely,  that  you  may  never  find  occasion 
to  regret  a  decision  which  is  the  source  of  a  great  and  well 
founded  pleasure  to  the  Authorities  of  Harvard  College.  .  .  . 

Very  sincerely  yours 

H.  P.  Walcott 

Colleagues  not   only   from   Harvard,  but  from   other 
universities,   too,   applauded  Miinsterberg 's   decision. 
Professor  Cattell  wrote: 

Gabbison-on-Hudson,  N.  Y. 

April  7,  1905. 

Dear  MiJNSTERBEBO:  ^ 

Davis  tells  me  that  you  are  seriously  considenng  the  otter 
of  the  chair  at  Konigsberg.  It  wUl  certainly  be  an  honor  to 
be  Kanfs  successor  there,  but  I  trust  that  you  will  not  leave 
us.  The  loss,  not  only  to  Harvard,  but  to  the  whole  country, 
would  be  irreparable.  I  understand  that  in  any  case  you  will 
not  so  until  after  the  dedication  of  Emerson  Hall.  .  .  . 
^  Very  truly  yours, 

J.  McK.  C. 

And,  after  the  final  decision  had  been  made,  the  psy- 
chologist of  Columbia  responded: 

127 


HUGO  MUNSTERBBRG 

Gabrison-on-Hudson,  N.  Y. 
April  22,  1905. 
Dear  MuNSTERrERo: 

I  am  very  glad  to  hear  directly  from  you,  what  I  had 
already  been  told,  that  you  have  declined  the  call  to  Konigsberg. 
I  can  appreciate  the  difficulty  of  the  decision,  but  we  in  this 
country  are  to  be  congratulated  on  it. 

Very  truly  yours, 
J.  McK.  Cattell 

This  is  the  voice  of  a  younger  colleague : 

Harvard  Universitt. 

April  22,  1905 

Dear  Professor  Mxjnsterberg  : 

We  are  all  glad  and  proud  that  America  is  to  keep  you. 
It  is  a  good  thing  for  us  youngsters  to  have  before  our  eyes 
men  like  Professor  James,  yourself,  and  Professor  Cattell  who 
are  psychologists  and  a  good  deal  more  besides. 

Yours  sincerely 
Edward  L.  Thorndikb 

Now  when  Miinsterberg  had  sealed  his  fate,  which  bound 
his  work  for  an  indefinite  time  to  his  second  home,  his 
desire  to  visit  his  native  shores  was  doubly  strong.  Two 
years  had  passed  since  he  visited  Germany  and  Switzer- 
land to  invite  the  participants  of  the  St.  Louis  Congress, 
and  now  the  turn  for  a  European  summer  had  come 
again.  This  time  the  visits  to  his  brothers  and  his  vaca- 
tion travels  were  more  carefree,  but  they  were  not  wholly 
unoccupied  with  duties.  The  equipment  of  Emerson  Hall 
was  foremost  in  his  mind  and  he  used  his  journey  to  pur- 
chase books  and  apparatus.  He  also  responded  to  a  re- 
quest by  the  editors  of  the  Cyclopedia  Americana  and 
sought  contributors  for  them  among  European  scholars 
eminent  in  their  special  fields.  Further,  now  that  Presi- 
dent Eliot  had  determined  upon  a  special  form  of  ex- 
change professorship,  Miinsterberg  did  his  best  to  make 
its  beginning  successful.    He  therefore  gave  advice  to 

128 


WORLD'S  SCHOLARS  AT  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR 

Professor  Ostwald,  the  chemist,  at  Leipzig,  who  was  chosen 
as  the  first  German  Exchange  Professor  to  Harvard. 

During  his  vacations  abroad,  it  was  Munsterberg's  de- 
sire, in  the  short  time  left  after  visits  to  relatives,  to  lead 
his  family  at  least  to  one  country  not  yet  known  to  them 
and  himself.  This  summer  they  traveled  through  Holland, 
where  Miinsterberg  reveled  in  the  paintings  of  Rem- 
brandt, Franz  Hals,  van  der  Hoist,  and  the  rest  of  the 
master  realists.  From  Holland  Munsterberg  made  his 
first  visit  to  England.  After  wandering  about  London 
with  his  family,  he  made  a  solitary  pilgrimage  to  Oxford, 
that  haunted  home  of  great  departed  spirits,  whither  he 

had  once  been  called. 

It  was  from  the  chalk  cliffs  of  Dover  that  he  set  sail  once 
more  in  time  for  the  beginning  of  the  college  year  and 
the  opening  of  Emerson  Hall.^ _^ 

1  For  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chap- 
ter see  Appendix,  pages  331-362. 


CHAPTER  IX 

SAGES  AND  SINNEBS 
(October,  1905— October,  1908) 

Emerson  Hall  was  built.  Uhder  the  graceful,  tower- 
ing oaks  near  the  Quincy  Street  border  of  the  Harvard 
yard  the  house  of  philosophy  stood  completed.  The  archi- 
tectural design  is  simple,  adequate,  without  superfluous 
ornamentation,  and  harmonious  with  Robinson  Hall  op- 
posite. It  is  built  of  red  bricks,  still  light  red,  but  they 
may  be  stained  by  the  dye  of  time,  like  the  ivyclad  sister 
buildings  in  the  College  Yard.  Over  the  main  entrance 
in  large  letters  is  the  name  ** Emerson  Hall'';  along  the 
cornice  above  the  side  entrance  is  the  inscription: 
'*What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him?'*  On  en- 
tering at  the  side  door,  one  comes  straight  upon  a  bronze 
statue  by  Duveneck  of  Emerson  seated.  A  year  after  the 
completion  of  Emerson  Hall,  Dr.  Edward  Emerson  pre- 
sented Harvard  with  a  portrait  of  his  father,  a  life-size 
enlargement  of  a  daguerreotype  made  by  Haw's  in  1856. 

On  the  ground  floor  of  Emerson  Hall  is  a  very  large 
lecture  room.  The  second  floor,  which  also  contains  a 
lecture  room,  was  devoted  to  social  ethics,  under  Professor 
Francis  Peabody,  as  well  as  to  the  Robbins  Library.  There 
are  on  both  floors  numerous  smaller  rooms  for  conferences, 
for  seminary  and  department  meetings,  and  quiet  rooms, 
combining  the  function  of  office  and  study,  for  professors. 
On  the  third  floor  is  the  Psychological  Laboratory.  Not 
long  before  the  opening  of  Emerson  Hall,  Nelson  Robinson 
had  made  a  generous  gift  for  additions  to  the  equipment 
of  this  laboratory,  and  the  result  of  careful  planning  and 
wise  forethought  in  the  arrangement  and  furnishing  of 

130 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 


the  twenty-four  rooms  was  most  satisfactory  and  a  de- 
light to  those  whose  lot  it  was  to  work  within  them.  The 
rooms  in  the  laboratory  are  adapted  to  a  large  variety 
of  experiments,  so  as  to  allow  the  greatest  possible  flexi- 
bility. There  are  several  dark  rooms,  a  sound-proof  room, 
a  photography  room,  a  battery  room,  an  instrument  room, 
etc.  The  animals  used  in  the  courses  on  animal  psychology 
were  later  given  exclusive  habitation  of  the  third  floor, 
where  Professor  Yerkes  reigned;  but  at  the  time  when 
work  first  began  in  Emerson  Hall,  animal  and  human 
psychology  were  studied  on  the  same  floor. 

The  growth  of  Emerson  Hall  has  already  been  traced 
in  previous  chapters:  how  the  desirability  of  uniting  all 
branches  of  philosophy  made  itself  felt  more  and  more, 
together  with  the  urgent  need  for  better  qujarters  for  the 
Psychological  Laboratory  work;  how  Professor  Palmer 
made  the  inspired  suggestion  that  a  hall  of  philosophy 
be  made  a  memorial  to  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson;  how 
Miinsterberg  wrote  a  plea  for  a  fit  house  of  philosophy 
which  the  Philosophical  Department  of  Harvard  sent  to 
the  Visiting  Committee;  that  this  committee  under  the 
chairmanship  of  G.  R.  Dorr  diligently  and  enthusias- 
tically roused  the  interest  of  the  public,  until  gifts  from 
most  varied  quarters  made  possible  the  enterprise;  and 
how  on  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  Emerson's  birth 
the  cornerstone  was  laid  for  Emerson  Hall.  Now  the 
house  of  philosophy  was  ready  to  open  its  doors  wide 
to  the  ardent  young  lovers  of  wisdom  for  generations  to 
come. 

The  opening  ceremony  was  set  for  the  27th  of  December, 
1905,  at  a  time  when  the  Philosophical  and  Psychological 
Associations  were  holding  their  meetings  at  Harvard.  It 
was  thought  fit  that  instead  of  a  purely  formal  celebration, 
a  debate  among  scholars  should  usher  in  the  life  and 
work  in  Emerson  Hall.    The  subject  for  the  debate  was 

131 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


**The  Place  of  Experimental  Psychology/'  a  problem  that, 
to  be  sure,  as  far  as  Harvard  was  concerned,  had  already 
been  solved  in  practice,  for  psychology  was  lodged  peace- 
fully with  ethics,  logic,  and  metaphysics  in  the  new  shelter 
of  Emerson  Hall. 

Preceding  the  debate  in  which  members  of  the  American 
Philosophical  and  Psychological  Association  took  part, 
was  a  short,  simple  dedication  ceremony.  It  was  natural 
that  the  son  of  the  Concord  sage  should  be  asked  to  take 
an  active  part  in  the  opening  of  the  memorial  to  his 
father.     In  reply  to  Miinsterberg  *s  invitation  Dr.  Edward 

Emerson  wrote: 

Concord,  November  7,  1905, 
My  dear  Professor  Munsterberg, 

I  am  honored  by  the  invitation  extended  to  me  by  you  on 
behalf  of  the  University,  and  shall  gladly  be  present  at  the 
ceremony  of  the  opening  of  Emerson  Hall,  and  try  to  say  some- 
thing of  my  father  which  may  be  appropriate.  I  certainly  shall 
not  occupy  much  time. 

It  is  very  pleasant  to  me  and  all  the  members  of  our  family 
that  this  hall,  thus  named  in  honor  of  a  faithful  scholar  and 
man,  should  stand  at  Cambridge  to  harbor  thought.  We  remem- 
ber also  with  gratitude  your  words  and  works  towards  accomplish- 
ing this  end. 

Sincerely   yours, 

Edward  Waldo  Emerson 

On  the  27th  of  December,  accordingly,  Duveneck's  statue 
of  Emerson  was  unveiled  in  the  entrance  hall,  and  in 
the  large  new  lecture  room  on  the  ground  floor  assembled 
the  members  of  the  Philosophical  and  the  Psychological 
Associations,  the  Harvard  faculty,  the  lovers  of  philosophy 
and  of  Emerson  who  had  come  to  witness  the  dedication 
of  Emerson  Hall.  First  President  Eliot  spoke  the  words 
of  dedication,  then  Dr.  Emerson  in  memory  of  his  father: 

• 

Mr.  President,  Officers  of  the  College,  Scholars,  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen:    The  University  has  thought  fit  to  give  to  this  Hall, 

132 


THREE    HARVARD    PHILOSOPHERS 

From  left  to  right:  Professor  Josiah  Boyce;  Professor  William  James; 

Professor  George  Herbert  Palmer 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 

eiven  by  the  loving  hands  of  many,  the  name  of  a  scholar  who 
Shty-eigW  years  ago  came  here  looking  to  her  for  food  for 
Xfh  of  his  mind  and  his  sonl.    His  hereditary  destany  seemed 
to  be  that  for  which  our  Puritan  fathers  founded  Uiis  college 
-ChrMo  et  Ecclesia  laborare;  but,  heedless  of  the  Eastern 
oracle,  "Enlarge  not  thy  destiny,"  he  soon  P«^«d  <.n  to  the 
broader  worship-and  work-for  the  truth,  the  eternal  yERI^AS. 
Because  I  bear  his  name  I  am  bidden  by  your  committee  to 
answer  for  it  to--day.    Honored  by  their  confidence,  I  wUl  say 
Xt  seems  to  me  the  appropriate  word,  of  E">erson's  ye««  of 
study,  its  blossom  in  Thought  and  its  fruit  m  Action;  also  recaU 
some  words  of  his  own  on  the  privileges  and  "^"""-f ,f  "*'«^.^ 
scholars  and  of  universities.    When  he  was  born    the  hab.^ 
alike  of  rich   and  poor,   were   smipler,   disciphne   and-more 
important-the  ideals  of  youth  other  th^^those  Prevalent  now. 
Wealth  was  rare;  work  universally  expected.    Soul  «ame  *ret' 
then  Mind,  last  Body.    The  invisible  world  seemed  near  and 
real     The  eternal  might  well  outweigh  the  transient. 



For  Mr.  Emerson's  philosophy  seems  more  like  that  of  the 
men  we  strangely  call  the  ancients-why  not  the  youthsT-smce 
they  lived  when,  in  a  sense,  the  earth  was  young.  In  those  morn- 
ing days  in  larger  Hellas,  religion,  poetry,  art,  and  philosophy 
were  not  separated.  There  was  no  dull  classification  and  the 
terminology  was  simple  and  beautiful  as  poetic  minds  could 
«X;  or  better,  th^y  symbolized  their  highest  thought.  In 
later  years  Mr.  Emerson  wrote,  "Philosophy  will  one  d^  be 
taught  by  poets.  The  poet  is  in  the  natural  attitude.  He  s 
believing;  the  philosopher,  after  some  struggles,  having  only 
reasons  for  believing." 



And  so  he  sat  him  down  io  a  quiet  river  town,  a  helpful, 
friendly  man.  No  profit  came  from  the  small  farm  in  his  hands. 
He  earned  his  living  by  his  lectures,  in  cities  at  first,  but  soon 
the  lyceums  spread  through  New  England  to  all  the  raw  towns 
of  the  prairie  and  pineries,  and  the  ports  of  the  great  conti- 
nental rivers.  It  should  be  remembered  that  all  the  essays,  from 
"Farming"  and  "Works  and  Days"  to  "Illusion,"  the  "Over- 
Soul,"  and  "Spiritual  Laws"  were  written  for  delivery  to  miscel- 
laneous audiences.  Hermann  Grimm  said  that  Emerson  re- 
sembled Shakespeare  "in  that  he  can  be  read  without  prepara- 
tion"   It  was  truly  "phUosophy  for  the  people."    He  never 

133 


i 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

"came  down  to  their  level,"  as  the  unha^^py  phrase  runs,  but 

held  that 

"To  clothe  the  fiery  thought 
In  simple  words  succeeds, 
For  still  the  craft  of  genius  is 
To  make  a  king  in  weeds." 

It  was  reported  by  more  than  one  of  Mr.  Emerson's  friends 
that  he  told  them  that  it  would  have  been  agreeable  to  him  at 
any  time  in  his  life  had  any  college,  large  or  small,  offered  him 
a  chair  of  rhetoric  and  oratory.  "I  am  no  orator,"  he  said, 
"but  I  could  teach  one."  It  is  pleasant  to  recall.  Sir,  that  in  the 
early  days  of  your  presidency  he  was  called  to  the  University 
to  give  courses  on  Philosophy.  He  came  with  pleasure,  but 
his  failing  forces  did  not  suffer  him  to  do  justice,  in  his  own 
opinion,  to  the  opportunity  so  congenial  to  his  taste.  But  early 
in  life  he  received  and  obeyed  a  higher  call,  to  be,  in  his  country, 
a  teacher-at-large  for  life,  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  Phi- 
losophy for  the  People,  and  his  audience  was,  and  is,  large.  He 
was  not  a  technical  metaphysician,  but  made  a  high  philosophy 
the  guide  of  his  daily  life.  Plutarch,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife, 
declared  that  he  "found  no  erasure,  as  in  a  book  well  written, 
in  the  happiness  of  his  life."  The  same  might  have  been  said 
by  this  lover  of  Plutarch.  The  processional  days  brought  him 
their  gifts,  and  he  early  learned  to  recognize  the  pearls  and 
diamonds  among  them.  He  did  his  day's  work  bravely  and  was 
helpful.  He  had  no  need  of  hope  or  faith,  because  he  saw. 
Were  he  to  have  written  an  inscription  over  the  door  of  a 
temple  of  Philosophy,  it  might  have  been 

WHERB  THERE  IS  NO  VISION,  THE  PEOPLE  PERISH. 

The  week  that  embedded  this  epoch-making  celebration 
in  the  history  of  philosophy  at  Harvard  was  further  filled 
with  the  activities  of  the  two  visiting  Associations.  The 
leading  psychological  address  before  these  bodies  was  held 
by  Miss  Mary  Whiton  Calkins. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  academic  year  distinguished 
by  the  opening  of  Emerson  Hall,  came  the  end  of  Miinster- 
berg*s  six  years'  chairmanship  of  the  Philosophical  De- 
partment.   He  was  now  given  the  oflScial  title  of  Director 

134 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 

of  the  Psychological  Laboratory.    It  was  in  his  own  room 
on  the  third  floor  of  Emerson  Hall,  with  **Prof.  Hugo 
Miinsterberg'^  printed  in  large  black  letters  on  the  door 
the  cheerful  room  on  a  level  with  the  oak-tree  tops,  that 
he  was  henceforth  to  spend  literally  the  greater  part  of 
his  life.    Here  he  not  only  gave  counsel  to  students  and 
colleagues,  but  received  what  seemed  an  infinite  variety 
of  visitors  who  sought  help  of  some  kind;  here  he  healed 
afflicted   nerves,   mastered   a   voluminous   correspondence 
and,  above  all,  dictated  many  and  diverse  books,  to  which 
the  'perplexed  questioner  has  access  still,  long  after  the 
door  has  closed  fast  that  used  to  open  so  often  during 
the  day  in  response  to  his  characteristic,  gentle:  **Come! 

In  January,  1906,  Miinsterberg  was  invited  to  deliver 
an  address  at  Yale.    It  was  in  the  foregoing  autumn  that 
the  Corporation  of  Yale  University  resolved  to  invite  some 
Harvard  professors  every  winter  to  speak  at  Yale  *'to 
cement  the  friendship  between  the  two  oldest  universities 
of  the  country.'*    President  Eliot  had  made  the  opening 
address.  Professor  Palmer  had  then  held  a  series  of  lec- 
tures, and  now  an  address  by  Miinsterberg  was  to  close 
the  first  year's  program.    The  theme  of  the  lecture  was 
*^  Science  and  IdeaUsm,''  a  subject  that  at  the  time  was  m 
the  air  not  only  of  the  academic  world  but  of  the  thinking 
public  at  large.    Moreover  the  representative  of  Harvard 
came  to  the  sister  institution  still  aglow  with  delighj:  m 
the  new  house  of  philosophy  and  the  attitude  it  symbolized. 
**Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh. 
And  so  Miinsterberg  made  his  address  with  the  following 
introduction : 

It  is  my  good  fortune  to  be  to-day  the  messenger  of  cordial 
feelino^  which  Harvard,  in  old  friendship,  cherishes  for  Yale. 
You  ^11  not  expect  from  me  a  chronicle  of  this  yearns  academic 
events,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from  a  reference  to  the  opening 
of  one  most  welcome  edifice.    Perhaps  you  may  consider  it  as 

135 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

professional  egotism,  yet  I  must  insist  that  last  winter's  most 
important  and  most  happy  change  in  our  Harvard  College  Yard 
has  been  the  erection  of  a  noble  monumental  building  as  a 
home  for  Philosophy — Emerson  HalL  The  philosophical  work 
in  Harvard  had  been  scattered  under  many  roofs.  Now  at 
last  it  has  unity  and  dignity,  and  its  imposing  quarters  have 
quickly  become  a  new  center  for  Harvard's  intellectual  life. 
The  significance  of  this  movement  is  evident.  It  indicates  pri- 
marily an  increased  interest  in  philosophy;  it  harmonizes  with 
many  other  signs,  all  suggesting  that  the  antiphilosophic  period 
of  the  last  half -century  is  ebbing  and  a  new  philosophic  grasp 
of  the  deepest  world-problems  is  being  felt  in  the  academic 
realm.  The  analysis  of  observation  is  being  at  last  supplemented 
by  the  synthesis  of  thought.  Every  scholar,  be  he  physicist  or 
biologist,  historian  or  mathematician,  philologist  or  theologian, 
feels  again  the  need  for  a  critical  examination  of  the  funda- 
mental conceptions  which  he  is  using  for  his  special  work;  and 
such  a  stu.dy  of  the  foundations  is  after  all  the  meaning  of 
philosophy.  It  had  been  too  long  neglected  throughout  a  period 
whose  world-view  was  superficial  in  spite  of  the  thoroughness 
of  its  narrow,  specialized  research. 

But  the  significance  of  .our  Harvard  movement  lies  still  deeper. 
The  philosophical  problems  may  be  solved  in  different  ways. 
The  materialist  and  the  skeptic,  the  mystic  and  the  realist,  may 
each  answer  the  fundamental  questions  after  his  own  temper. 
But  Harvard  has  called  its  house  of  wisdom,  Emerson  Hall,  and 
has  indicated  by  choosing  the  name  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 
that  the  philosophy  of  our  time  ought  to  be  guided  by  the  spirit 
of  idealism.  Emerson,  whose  bronze  statue  adorns  the  entrance 
of  our  new  philosophy  building,  was  not  a  technical  scholar, 
yet  no  one  in  this  country  stood  more  warmly,  more 'luminously, 
more  whole-heartedly  for  the  deepest  convictions  of  idealistic 
philosophy:  he  believed  in  the  freedom  of  man  and  in  the  ab- 
solute value  of  man's  ideals. 

The  times  have  changed  since  Emerson  wrote  his  immortal 
essays.  The  wonderful  progress  of  knowledge  has  transformed 
our  world  into  a  gigantic  mechanism  in  which  every  atom 
moves  according  to  laws,  every  mind  works  by  necessity,  and  in 
which  no  room  is  left  for  ideals  and  eternal  duties.  And  yet 
the  old  problems  do  return  in  the  midst  of  the  triumphant  days 
of  science.  The  erection  of  Emerson  Hall  means  that  our 
scientific  time  ought  to  ask  once  more:  Is  there  anything  in 

136 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 

this  world  which  is  really  valuable  in  itself,  anything  which 
justifies  the  idealistic  belief  in  absolute  values?  And  therefore 
I  thought  that  an  answer  to  this  life-question  would  be  the  most 
fitting  "message  from  our  Harvard  world.  Of  course  our  time 
is  not  satisfied  with  an  appeal  to  emotions.  No  Emersonian 
enthusiasm  can  overcome  the  arguments  of  reason,  and  every 
inconsistent  short  cut  of  thought  must  lead  us  to  abysses.  To 
claim  such  absolute  values  by  hopes  or  inspirations,  to  preach 
ideals,  is  a  most  important  practical  task;  but  it  is  not  that  of 
the  philosopher.  His  aim  must  be  to  understand  the  ideals. 
But  to  understand  them  means  ultimately  to  deduce  them  all 
from  one  central,  necessary  principle,  just  as  modern  science 
since  Newton  deduces  all  movements  in  the  universe  from  one 
formula.  This  hour  calls  indeed  for  an  effort  to  reach  the  real 
depths  of  the  problem,  however  dry  and  technical  and  unin- 
spiring the  method  must  be,  and  however  imperfect  such  an 
effort  must  remain. 

That  Miinsterberg  believed  in  intercollegiate  contact 
among  scholars  and  in  exchange  of  ideas  outside  of  the 
family  of  one's  own  university  has  often  been  pointed 
out.  In  December,  1907,  two  years  after  the  Philosophical 
and  Psychological  Associations  had  helped  to  baptize 
Emerson  Hall  and  had  gathered  festively  in  his  own 
house,  Miinsterberg  was  made  President  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Association.  The  following  spring  he  invited 
experimental  psychologists  from  various  universities  to 
gather  in  the  new  laboratory  at  Emerson  Hall.  This  gave 
opportunity  for  the  immediate  exchange  of  ideas  among 
specialists  without  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  general 
congresses,  for  direct  demonstrations  and — not  the  least 
important  factor — for  admiring  the  excellent  and  up-to- 
date  equipment  of  the  Harvard  laboratory. 

Because  Miinsterberg  kept  in  touch  with  the  ideas  de- 
veloped in  other  universities  besides  his  own  and  more 
especially  because  his  ideas  found  response  all  over  the 
country,  he  received  invitations  that  were  often  difficult 
for  a  busy  man  to  accept  and  sometimes  difficult  to  decline. 

137 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

To  the  latter  class  belonged  a  call  from  President  Wheeler 
of  the  University  of  California  to  lecture  there  through  the 
summer  session  of  1906.  To  Miinsterberg  who  had  seen 
California  once  and  had  felt  the  spell  of  its  beauty,  such 
an  invitation  to  lecture  at  Berkeley  was  not  without  its 
strong  attraction.  But  he  had  graver  work  to  do.  Fully 
ripened  in  his  mind,  the  plan  for  a  complete  and  thorough 
presentation  of  his  own  system  of  philosophy  was  ready 
to  be  carried  out.  This  was  to  be,  in  a  sense,  a  crowning 
labor,  a  consummation  of  all  that  the  philosopher  had 
hitherto  thought  and  written  and  lived.  For  such  a  work 
the  tranquility  of  a  country  retreat  was  needed.  Instead 
of  traveling  to  California,  he  stayed  in  his  accustomed 
pastoral  cottage  in  Clifton  and  worked,  usually  on  the 
piazza  looking  upon  a  quiet  field,  for  ten  or  twelve  hours 
daily,  from  June  15th  to  September  25th  on  his  Philosophie 
der  Werte.  This  he  later  rewrote  in  English  under  the 
title  The  Eternal  Values, 

A  summer  in  retirement,  devoted  to  concentrated  pro- 
duction, could  well  be  attained;  for  that  is  the  beauty  of 
the  long  vacations  in  the  academic  year,  that  those  who 
will  may  idle  and  those  who  are,  above  all,  creative  scholars, 
when  freed  from  teaching  and  administrative  obligations, 
may  employ  their  undiminished  powers  for  the  advance- 
ment of  their  sciences.  For  Miinsterberg,  in  particular, 
such  a  summer  was  a  blessing,  because  with  the*  beginning 
of  the  academic  year,  not  only  the  routine  duties  began, 
but  innumerable  other  demands  were  made  on  him  beside. 

In  the  season  preceding  the  quiet  summer,  he  had  been 
called  upon  to  give  various  lectures  to  university  and 
other  clubs  and  societies.  In  April,  1907,  a  Peace  Confer- 
ence took  place  in  Carnegie  Hall  under  the  direction  of 
that  untiring  supporter  of  hopes  and  projects  for  the 
maintenance  of  peace,  Andrew  Carnegie.    For  three  days, 

138 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 

speeches  were  made  by  undaunted  enthusiasts  who  happily 
could  not  see  at  the  end  of  the  next  seven  fat  years,  the 
specter  of  the  lean  and  bloody  years  that  held  their  futile 
efforts  in  derision.  Miinsterberg  *s  speech  on  this  occasion, 
which  he  began,  as  a  philosopher,  with  the  mention  of 
Kant's  book  on  Everlasting  Peace,  roused  a  slight  con- 
troversy with  Mr.  Carnegie  of  which,  as  usual,  the  papers 
made  much.  In  the  words  of  a  witness:  **The  papers  in 
New  York  seemed  to  make  more  account  of  the  little 
talk  between  you  and  Mr.  Carnegie  on  the  platform  than 
of  the  great  speeches,  just  as  they  attack  our  President 
for  trifles,  mainly  imaginary,  with  scarcely  a  reference  to 
the  really  mighty  work  that  he  has  done  for  his  country 
and  mankind.'* 

That  the  controversy  with  Mr.  Carnegie  did  not  result 
in  any  prolonged  state  of  chill  was  proved  by  the  fact 
that  Miinsterberg  by  his  persuasions  finally  ** crystallized" 
Mr.  Carnegie's  resolution  to  make  a  large  donation  toward 
the  **Koch  Institute,"  a  medical  research  institute  at 
Berlin  for  the  benefit  of  all  mankind,  in  memory  of  the 
great  bacteriologist,  Robert  Koch.  Carnegie  ended  his 
letter  to  Miinsterberg  in  which,  on  February  1,  1908,  he 
announced  his  contribution  of  a  million  marks  to  the  Koch 
Institute  with  these  words:  ** Pasteur,  Koch,  Jenner, 
Lister,  Simpson  and  others  of  that  class,  whose  mission  was 
and  is  to  save  or  serve  their  fellows,  are  the  true  heroes 
of  civilization." 

In  June,  that  month  which  in  the  educational  world 
represents  an  interlude  between  routine  activities  and 
complete  freedom,  the  month  in  which  the  wise  men  of 
the  land  are  called  upon  to  perform  Polonius  duty  toward 
the  youth  of  numberless  academies,  and  the  academies,  in 
turn,  bestow  on  men  of  wisdom  and  of  action  their  vener- 
able distinctions  in  the  month  of  June,  1907,  Lafayette 
College,  Pennsylvania,  celebrated  its  75th  anniversary  and 

139 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

its  President,  Dr.  Warfield,  asked  Miinsterberg  to  give  a 
commencement  address  and  to  receive  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Literature.  Miinsterberg  gladly  took  the  desired  active 
part  in  the  celebration.  Those  who  received  honorary- 
degrees  with  him  on  that  day  were  three  sons  of  the 
College,  Dr.  J.  W.  Bright  of  Johns  Hopkins  University, 
Dr.  C.  P.  G.  Scott,  editor  of  the  Century  and  revised 
Worcester  Dictionaries,  and  Miinsterberg 's  friend,  the 
psychologist.  Professor  James  McKeen  Cattell  of  Columbia 
University,  whose  father  had  been  President  of  Lafayette 
College ;  also  the  Governors  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York, 
respectively,  the  Honorable  Edwin  S.  Stuart,  and  the 
Honorable  Charles  E.  Hughes  who  was  destined  to  become 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Presidential  candidate  in 
1915,  and  Secretary  of  State  in  1921. 

The  celebrations  were  held  from  June  16th  to  19th  with 
all  the  traditional  dignity  and  half-rural  charm  that  is 
so  peculiar  to  college  festivals.  The  Alumni  dinner  was 
held  in  a  large  tent  under  the  trees,  because  no  building 
could  contain  the  guests  and  sons  of  the  college.  The  for- 
mal addresses  were  by  James  McKeen  Cattell,  William 
Owen  of  Lafayette  College,  and  Hugo  Miinsterberg.  The 
Harvard  philosopher,  now  Doctor  of  Literature,  spoke  on 
the  mission  of  the  American  college,  the  peculiar  advan- 
tages of  the  college  systems,  which  he  was  at  the  time  en- 
deavoring to  introduce  into  Continental  Europe.  He  be- 
gan his  address  with  these  words : 

It  seems  so  natural  and  delightful  to  listen  on  such  festival  days 
of  college  joy  and  of  college  pride  to  the  voices  of  men  whose 
memories  are  intertwined  with  the  noble  traditions  of  the  celebrat- 
ing college.  Those  who  rejoiced  in  the  happy  days  of  inner 
growth  from  the  immaturity  of  school  work  to  the  maturity  of 
life  work  on  the  lovely  campus  of  Lafayette  are  the  welcome 
speakers,  indeed,  to-day,  and  their  words,  filled  with  gratitude, 
transform  this  huge  assembly  into  a  mighty  family  circle.    But 

140 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 

harsh  and  disturbing  seems  in  such  hours  of  intimacy  the  \/ord 
of  an  outsider  who  never  before  enjoyed  the  charm  and  inspira- 
tion of  this  place.  If  you  are  yet  generous  enough  to  invite  the 
stranger's  intrusion  into  your  assembly  of  alunmi,  yes,  if  you 
kindly  welcome  the  messenger  of  the  Harvard  Faculty,  your 
motive,  it  seems,  can  be  only  one :  on  such  a  day  of  historic  retro- 
spection Lafayette  College  desires  to  acknowledge  the  unity  of 
the  country's  growth  and  academic  development,  desires  to  re- 
member, venerable  to-day  herself,  those  places  of  learning  which 
were  venerable  when  she  began  her  successful  career,  and  there- 
fore, looks  back  in  friendly  fellowship  to  the  oldest  university  of 
the  land.  Simple  arithmetic  leads  us  quickly  back  to  those  an- 
cient days.  It  was  75  years  ago  that  Lafayette  College  was  born ; 
if  we  double  the  figure,  exactly  150  years  ago,  in  1757,  the  gallant 
Frenchman  was  bom  for  whom  this  college  was  named;  and  if 
we  double  that  figure,  exactly  300  years  ago,  in  1607,  was  bom 
the  pious  Englishman  who  founded  the  first  American  college, 
John  Harvard.  What  a  glorious  national  development  in  the 
lifetime  of  a  few  generations!  John  Harvard's  foundation  is 
flourishing  to-day  in  the  midst  of  hundreds  of  other  colleges,  of 
which  even  the  least  stands  higher  than  the  Harvard  of  the  old 
days.  And  Harvard  College  never  looked  with  misgivings  on  the 
wonderful  growth  of  her  young  rivals ;  on  the  contrary.  Harvard 
knew  that  her  own  steady  progress  resulted  first  of  all  from  the 
spreading  of  the  collegiate  spirit  over  the  country;  every  college 
which  devotes  itself  with  earnestness  to  the  high  task  helps  every 
other  college,  and  if  a  younger  institution  can  prove  that  through 
three-quarters  of  a  century  it  has  lived  up  to  the  noblest  ambitions 
and  to  the  most  ideahstic  hopes,  then  it  is  a  matter  for  sincere 
rejoicing  to  the  older  colleges,  and  for  none  more  than  to  the 
oldest.  To  be  allowed  to  bring  to  you  to-day  the  message  of 
such  Harvard  sentiments  and  the  sincere  congratulations  of 
America's  largest  university,  is  the  privilege  which  makes  me 
most  grateful. 

It  was  in  that  same  June  that  Miinsterberg  went  on  a 
unique  journey  to  Boise,  Idaho,  one  which  was  a  veritable 
cause  celehre  because  of  its  social  significance.  Harry 
Orchard,  a  depraved  murderer  of  eighteen  human  beings, 
the  last  among  whom  was  ex-Governor  Steunenberg,  had 
turned  state's  evidence  and  confessed  not  only  that  the 

141 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 


|i 


bombing  of  the  ex-Governor,  but  all  the  crimes  that  he 
had  done  had  been  ordered,  directed,  and  paid  for  from 
the  fund  of  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners  by  its  inner 
circle — Haywood,  Moyer,  Pettibone,  and  Simpkins.  Or- 
chard was  now  the  star  witness  for  the  prosecution  against 
the  labor  leaders,  and  not  only  the  fate  of  these  men,  but 
the  reputation  of  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners  and 
of  unionism  in  the  West  depended  on  the  truthfulness 
of  Orchard's  confession. 

It  may  well  be  asked:  what  had  the  Harvard  psycholo- 
gist to  do  with  this  sensational  Western  murder  case? 
So  we  must  turn  for  a  moment  from  the  courtroom  of 
Idaho  tc  the  laboratory  in  Emerson  Hall.  At  the  time 
considered  in  this  chapter,  Miinsterberg  had  been  making 
experiments  with  his  students  which  threw  light  on  psy- 
chological methods  that  might  be  applied  to  legal  pro- 
ceedings. Moreover,  his  experience  with  hysterical  and 
other  patients,  troubled  mentally  and  emotionally,  sug- 
gested to  Miinsterberg  ways  in  which  a  scientific  knowledge 
of  the  behaviour  of  the  mind  might  do  valuable  service 
in  court.  Mere  association  tests  could  bring  out  secret 
thoughts  of  the  patient.  A  young  college  girl,  for  in- 
stance, once  sought  the  psychologist's  advice  because  her 
poor  health  and  poor  spirits  prevented  her  from  doing  her 
work,  although  she  declared  that  she  ate  regular  whole- 
some meals  and  was  not  allowed  to  buy  sweets.  By  a  test 
of  words  associated  in  the  girl's  mind,  the  psychologist, 
through  the  suspicious  occurrence  of  words  like  **  choco- 
late" and  ** sweets,"  the  evasive  answer  to  the  word 
** candy"  and  the  length  of  the  reaction  time  in  every  case, 
found  out  that  the  neurasthenic  girl  was  a  victim  to  the 
candy  habit,  which  had  spoiled  her  health.  After  this 
discovery  of  her  secret,  she  confessed  and  reformed  and 
was  soon  normal  again. 

If  a  girl  who  had  denied  her  passion  for  sweets  could 

142 


thus  unwittingly  be  led  to  betray  herself,  a  criminal  by 
methods  adapted  to  his  particular  case  might  also  be 
tested  for  the  reaction  to  suspicious  words  connected 
with  his  crime.  Psychology  could  further  perform  a 
negative  function.  The  evils  of  the  third  degree  were  well 
known,  the  forcing  of  untrue  confessions  made  merely 
for  relief  from  torture.  The  substitution  of  trained 
laboratory  methods  for  such  brutal  remnants  of  the  Dark 
Ages,  would  in  itself  be  a  blessing.  This  is  not  the  place 
for  a  detailed  account  of  the  various  experiments  or  of 
the  recording  instruments  used  in  their  service;  more- 
over, the  suggestions  drawn  from  them  for  application  to 
problems  of  crime  were  presented  to  the  public  in  various 
popular  articles  and  eventually  in  a  volume,  On  the  Wit- 
ness Stand. 

Now  of  all  phenomena  in  the  recent  history  of  crime, 
Harry  Orchard  was  the  most  baffling.  The  hardened  multi- 
murderer  seemed  to  have  experienced  a  conversion  and 
had  confessed  his  crimes.  Was  this  confession  on  which 
the  fate  of  the  far  more  important  labor  leaders  depended, 
a  lie  to  save  his  life,  or  was  it  true?  If  the  methods  of 
the  psychological  laboratory  were  of  any  avail  in  the  de- 
tection of  guilt,  here  was  a  chance  to  test  their  power — 
as  yet  purely  in  the  interest  of  the  science  and  of  the 
future  in  which  the  new  applied  science  might  become  a 
recognized  aid  in  legal  proceedings.  Miinsterberg  was 
strongly  drawn  to  Boise  where  the  trial  was  held,  and 
he  turned  his  desire  into  action. 

It  need  not  be  said  that  Miinsterberg  had  not  the  slight- 
est intention  of  influencing  the  trial;  until  the  psycho- 
logical expert  was  recognized  as  indispensable,  like  the 
chemical  expert,  he  could,  of  course,  assume  no  part  in 
the  proceedings.  In  Miinsterberg 's  own  words:  **To 
deny  that  the  experimental  psychologist  has  possibilities 
of  determining  the  'truth  telling  powers'  is  as  absurd 

143 


HUGO  MUNSTERBBRG 


as  to  deny  that  the  chemical  expert  can  find  out  whether 
there  is  arsenic  in  the  stomach.'^  But  as  yet  it  was  the 
psychologist's  task  merely  to  test  the  possibilities  of  his 
science,  not  to  make  it  serve  any  practical  end.  For  this 
reason  Miinsterberg  did  not  grant  any  information  regard- 
ing his  tests  to  newspaper  reporters,  and  he  had  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  the  outcome  of  his  experiments 
could  not  reach  the  jury  during  the  trial.  It  was  his 
intention  to  give  the  records  of  his  experiments  to  scien- 
tific journals  and  scholarly  archives  and,  as  interest  in 
the  possibilities  of  applied  pyschology  had  taken  hold 
of  the  public,  to  write  an  easy  presentation  of  his  tests  and 
their  results  for  a  popular  magazine,  to  appear — after 
the  trial. 

No  difficulty  was  put  into  the  way  of  the  psychologist 
in  carrying  out  his  experiments.  At  the  end  of  June, 
1907,  Miinsterberg  defied  the  heat  and  traveled  straight 
from  Boston  to  Boise,  Idaho,  four  days  and  four  nights, 
with  a  trunk  full  of  psychological  apparatus,  and  spent 
there  four  days  crowded  with  new  impressions.  Six  ses- 
sions Miinsterberg  attended  at  the  courtroom,  where  the 
twelve  jurymen  sat  rocking,  each  in  his  own  rhythm,  in 
twelve  rocking  chairs.  On  the  day  of  Miinsterberg 's  ar- 
rival, he  had  immediate  opportunity  to  see  Orchard  on 
the  witness  stand,  cross-examined  by  the  defense.  The 
scholar  felt  a  strong  aversion  for  the  criminal  with  his 
brutal,  vulgar  jaw,  his  small  sparkling  eyes  and  deformed 
ears;  Miinsterberg 's  sympathies  instinctively  went  out  to 
Haywood,  with  the  head  of  a  brilliant  thinker;  and  as 
Miinsterberg  said  himself  after  his  return:  ** — but  for  a 
real  man,  for  a  man  who  has  ideals  and  is  ready  to  fight 
for  them  against  this  commonplace  social  body,  a  man 
of  the  type  of  those  who  ultimately  build  up  the  world 
and  master  fate — for  a  real  man  give  me  Hajrwood.'* 

Nevertheless,  the  psychologist's  self-imposed  duty  de- 

144 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 


manded  perfect  objectivity  and  did  not  allow  private  sym- 
pathies and  aversions  to  intrude.    Accordingly,  he  drove 
with  the  Governor  of  the  State,  Mr.  Frank  Gooding,  who 
extended  every  courtesy  to  the  guest  from  New  England, 
through  the  pretty  streets  of  the  mountain  town  to  the 
State  penitentiary.     There  Miinsterberg,  filled  with  dis- 
gust, convinced  that  the  murderer  was  also  a  liar,  shud- 
dered at  the  touch  of  the  assassin's  hand.    Yet  he  con- 
versed with  him  and  received  a  different  impression  of 
the  strange  criminal  through  these  conversations.    Such 
impressions,  however,  did  not  alter  Miinsterberg 's  convic- 
tions, for  he  relied  solely  on  his  psychological  investiga- 
tions.   He  made  about  a  hundred  tests  and  experiments,  for 
which  Orchard  was  a  willing  subject,  since  unwillingness 
would  have  looked  like  a  bad  conscience  and,  moreover, 
the  criminal  easily  trusted  his  own  skill  in  hiding  what  he 
desired  to  hide.    Miinsterberg  by  no  means  hypnotized  his 
subject,  as  rumors  spread  by  those  sympathizing  with  the 
defense  asserted ;  he  simply  told  the  criminal  that  he  had 
come   to   examine   his  mind   and   sound   his   heart,   and 
then  applied  his  tests.     The  association   test  applied  to 
the  murderer  was  the  same,  in  principle,  as  that  applied 
to  the  girl  patient  who  was  convicted  of  the  candy  habit ; 
and  through  this  test  it  appeared  that  Orchard's  mind, 
which  reacted  on  words  vitally  connected  with  his  crimes 
or  his  conversion  at  the  same  pace  as  on  indifferent  words, 
had  nothing  to  hide  and  felt  no  emotional  disturbance  at 
the  mention  of  the  significant  words.     This  association  test 
gave  by  no  means  the  whole  clew  to  Orchard's  character; 
it  remained  to  be  tested  whether  this  candid  state  of 
mind  and  absence  of  the  feeling  of  guilt  were  normal  or 
produced  by  some  auto-suggestion,  hypnotism,  or  disease. 
Indeed,  numerous  experiments,  too  minute  and  technical 
to  be  reported  to  the  public,  had  to  be  faithfully  worked 
out  before  the  psychologist  could  reach  his  conclusion. 

145 


HUGO  MTJNSTERBERG 

This  conclusion,  contrary  to  his  first  decided  impression 
and  instinctive  sympathies,  was  that  Orchard  undoubtedly 
spoke  the  truth.  His  conversion,  evidently,  was  not  a 
sham.  From  experiments  Miinsterberg  found  put  that 
Orchard  had  keen  acoustical  and  optical  memories,  that 
the  past  was  vivid  and  plastic  in  his  mind;  and  this 
explained  the  ultimate  dissatisfaction  found  in  the  life 
of  the  professional  assassin.  For  such  a  life  requires  a 
mind  preoccupied  with  the  present  or  constantly  urging 
on  toward  the  future,  but  unencumbered  with  the  ob- 
truding past  which  must  eventually  have  the  effect  of  a 
guilty  conscience.  The  life  of  the  criminal's  past— his 
early  belief,  his  mother,  his  first  wife  and  child  who  were 
cruelly  deserted— persistently  demanded  harmony  with 
the  present  and  this  could  only  be  reached  by  the  phe- 
nomenal conversion  that  led  to  the  confession  of  his  crimes 
and  the  circumstances  connected  with  them. 

Miinsterberg  was  convinced  of  the  reliability  of  his  ex- 
periments, no  matter  what  the  verdict  of  the  jury  might 
be.  He  knew  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  about  the 
subjective  truth  of  Orchard's  statements,  although  he  was 
well  aware  that  the  complete  objective  truth  with  which  the 
trial  was  concerned  might  require  more  proof  than  the 
confession  of  one  witness. 

When,  after  four  days,  Miinsterberg  had  satisfied  him- 
self as  to  the  fruit  of  his  experiments,  he  journeyed  home 
again  for  four  days  and  four  nights,  carrying  in  his  arms 
a  parting  gift  from  Governor  Gooding,  a  beautifully  bead- 
embroidered  case  for  an  Indian  papoose.  After  a  most 
fatiguing  journey  in  the  hot  sleepers,  he  reached  Boston 
somewhat  exhausted,  and  boarded  the  local  train  to  Clifton, 
bound  toward  his  cool  summer  cottage.  But  in  this  train 
he  was  accosted  by  a  reporter  who  was  riding  to  Clifton 
for  the  purpose,  and,  overtired  as  he  was,  the  Psychologist 
yielded  after  vain  resistance  to  the  * 'third  degree"  of  the 

146 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 


newspaper  man  and  admitted  that  he  believed  that  Or- 
chard had  spoken  the  truth.  Unwilling  as  he  was  to  re- 
veal even  so  much  of  his  doings  at  Boise,  until  the  time 
should  come,  after  the  trial,  to  give  his  own  presentation 
of  his  experiments,  he  trusted  that  this  meager  bit  of  in- 
formation would  not  escape  outside  of  the  next  morn- 
ing's Boston  papers. 

Great  was  his  surprise  and  disappointment  when  he  per- 
ceived the  next  day  that  his  extorted  remarks  had  been 
wired  all  over  the  country.  Another  interviewer  appeared 
and  he  was  forced,  now  that  his  statement  had  been 
given  such  unintended  publicity,  to  sketch  the  way  in 
which  he  had  reached  his  conclusion  about  Orchard's  truth- 
fulness. All  the  while  he  drew  comfort  from  knowing 
that  the  jury  was  safe  from  newspaper  stories  and  could 
in  no  way  be  influenced  by  the  importunate  haste  of  the 
press. 

But  that  was  not  the  end.  A  flood  of  newspaper  com- 
ments poured  out  all  over  the  country  giving  absurd  ac- 
counts of  the  psychologist's  interview  with  the  criminal. 
One  California  paper  went  so  far  as  to  state,  under  the 
heading  ** Swelled  Heads,*'  that  the  scientist  had  tested 
his  subject  by  measuring  the  thickness  and  dimensions  of 
his  skull  and  ended  with  the  witticism:  **I'll  bet  a  dollar 
to  two  bits  that  Prof.  Miinsterberg  has  a  head  like  a 
prize  pumpkin."  The  inevitable  followed.  Annoyed  by 
the  publicity  of  the  statements  in  favor  of  Orchard's  con- 
fession, the  lawyers  for  the  defense  accused  Miinsterberg 
of  graft.  They  declared  that  he  was  the  guest  of  the 
prosecution ;  that  he  had  not  seen  the  witness  in  the  court- 
room; further,  they  dwelt  on  the  fact  that  he  had  offered 
an  article  on  his  experiments  with  Orchard  to  a  popular 
magazine.  They  did  not  consider  that  Miinsterberg  had 
done  so  at  a  time  when  he  believed  that  his  investigations 
would  result  unfavorably  for  the  criminal.    Further,  they 

147 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

paid  no  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  magazine  had  as- 
sured him  of  its  indifference  to  the  result  and  its  respect 
for  the  scientist's  complete  objectivity  and  of  holding 
back  publication  of  the  article  till  after  the  close  of  the 
trial.  The  situation  was  falsely  represented,  as  if  the 
magazine  had  engaged  the  psychologist  to  construct  a 
story  in  favor  of  Orchard.  MUnsterberg  of  course  cleared 
himself  of  these  charges;  but  it  is  the  insidious  evil  of 
newspaper  calumnies  that  they  leave  some  poison  in  the 
impressionable  mind,  regardless  of  logic  or  fact. 

Still  MUnsterberg  refrained  from  publishing  his  ex- 
periments. The  impatient  public  meanwhile  was  appeased 
by  a  lengthy  article  written  by  a  young  colleague  of 
Miinsterberg'  for  the  New  York  Herald  which  described, 
with  illustrations,  some  of  the  apparatus  used  in  the 
psychological  laboratories,  of  the  kind  that  might  be  ap- 
plied in  detecting  crimes.  The  apparati  described  were 
chiefly  the  automatograph,  which  records  involuntary 
movements ;  the  pneumograph,  which  records  the  rate  and 
rhythm  of  breathing;  and  the  sphygmograph,  which,  at- 
tached to  the  wrist,  records  the  heart  beats.  This  hy- 
pothetical article  soon  reappeared  in  a  Boston  paper  as  a 
statement  of  fact,  giving  the  impression  that  Miinsterberg 
had  actually  used  every  one  of  these  instruments  in  Boise. 
But  that  was  not  all.  It  was  cabled  to  London  that  the 
Harvard  psychologist's  ** crowning  life  work''  was  the  in- 
vention of  an  apparatus  by  which  he  could  detect  lies. 
Thus  the  myth  of  Miinsterberg 's  '* lying-machine"  was 
born.  The  momentous  news  was  cabled  back  again  to 
America,  as  also  to  France  and  Germany,  and  the  differ- 
ences in  the  reactions  of  the  press  in  these  four  countries 
make  a  good  study  in  comparative  public  curiosity.  In 
America  the  comments  all  took  a  political  turn.  A  fic- 
titious interview  in  no  less  venerable  a  paper  than  the 
New  York  Times  began:    **As  soon  as  I  heard  that  Prof. 

148 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 


Hugo  Monsterwork  of  Harvard  had  invented  a  machine 
for  detecting  liars  in  the  act,  I  said  to  myself  melodramati- 
cally :  *  Ho ! '  For  I  saw  at  once  the  invention  was  fraught 
with  the  gravest  danger  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole 
country  outside  of  Sagamore  Hill." 

In  England  the  social  significance  of  the  lying-machine 
was  elaborated  upon  with  abundance  of  wit;  in  France 
main  emphasis  was  laid  on  the  part  it  would  play  in  love 
affairs  and  its  usefulness  in  proposals  of  marriage.  The 
sphygmograph  seemed  to  be  the  favored  apparatus  that 
imagination  turned  into  the  lying-machine,  and  a  wrong 
translation  of  the  word  *' wrist"  by  the  equivalent  for 
*^back"  made  it  appear  that  this  demoniac  machine  was 
strapped  to  the  victim's  back  to  test  his  truthfulness. 

Such  were  the  tortures,  not  unrelieved  by  spasms  of 
humor,  of  a  misrepresented  servant  of  science.  The 
psychologist  withdrew  the  popular  article  on  his  experi- 
ments with  Orchard,  because  it  appeared  that  the  verdict 
of  the  jury  would  be  for  Haywood  and  Miinsterberg  felt 
that  embarrassment  might  result  for  the  magazine.  Later 
he  set  forth  some  of  the  methods  employed  in  his  testing 
of  Orchard  in  one  of  the  essays  in  On  the  Witness  Stand. 
The  records  of  the  experiments  themselves  remained  valu- 
able documents;  Miinsterberg  stayed  convinced  of  the  re- 
liability of  his  investigations  and  gained  from  them  im- 
portant suggestions  for  the  future  of  psychology  as  ap- 
plied in  the  courtroom. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  sensational  publicity 
which  the  new  applied  science  received  through  the  press 
was  the  only  symptom  of  interest  aroused  among  the 
general  public.  As  every  conceivable  new  movement — 
from  religious  movements  to  fashions  of  the  day — ^has  fea- 
tures that  lend  themselves  to  exaggeration,  misrepresenta- 
tion, and  ridicule  and  yet  may  exert  its  influence  steadily 
and  continuously,  so  the  interest  in  applied  psychology 

149 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

was  taking  more  and  more  hold  of  serious  minds.  **  Psy- 
chology and  Law"  was  now  most  in  demand  as  a  lecture 
topic.  To  be  sure,  Miinsterberg  spoke  also  on  other  sub- 
jects during  the  season  of  1907-08,  for  he  was  continually 
desired  as  international  interpreter;  yet  those  clubs  and 
societies  that  wanted  the  most  advanced  ideas  that  science 
had  to  offer  were  eager  to  hear  about  the  new  possibilities 
of  psychology. 

In  January,  1908,  Miinsterberg  went  to  Chicago,  where 
he  spoke  to  the  City  Club  on  '* Psychology  and  Law.'* 

Miinsterberg  could  not  be  in  Chicago  without  a  visit 
to  Chicago  University,  where  Professor  Albion  Small,  his 
cooperator  for  the  success  of  the  St.  Louis  Congress,  gave 
him  a  cordial  welcome.  Miinsterberg  spoke  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  on  '* Educational  Aim.''  In  this  lecture 
the  Harvard  philosopher  presented  his  philosophical  and 
educational  theories  which  were  opposed  to  those  prevalent 
among  his  audience.  Nevertheless,  to  quote  from  a  letter 
of  Professor  Small: 


Instead  of  being  in  any  other  sense  displeased  with  what  you 
said,  they  all  expressed  themselves  to  me  as  delighted  to  have  you 
put  your  own  views  in  your  own  forcible  way  before  our  com- 
munity. They  take  issue,  of  course,  as  you  knew  beforehand, 
but  they  were  glad  to  have  you  state  your  case  in  your  own  way. 
They  would  also  be  glad  if  it  could  be  made  possible  some  time  in 
the  future  for  you  to  be  here  long  enough  to  fill  out  the  state- 
ment with  a  full  argument. 

Personally  you  will  always  find  the  latch  string  out,  not  merely 
at  our  house,  but  in  a  great  many  others  whenever  you  can  visit 
U8.  .  .  . 


On  the  way  back  from  Chicago,  Miinsterberg  visited 
Buffalo,  where  he  also  gave  an  address  on  **  Educational 
Aims,*'  and  on  ** Psychology  and  Law" — a  sign  that  the 
problems  of  legal  psychology  were  filling  the  atmosphere 

150 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 


of  public  interest  as  the  ** latest"  and  most  fascinating 
subject.  In  connection  with  his  role  as  educator,  the  psy- 
chologist was  led  about  on  a  visiting  tour  to  schools  of  the 
city  by  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  in  Buffalo.  In 
one  large  high  school  the  teacher  of  Roman  history  asked 
a  boy:  **Can  you  tell  me  the  chief  difference  between 
the  life  of  the  Romans  and  our  own  life?"  Thereupon 
the  boy  answered  promptly:  **In  Rome  the  father  was 
the  head  of  the  family."  This  little  incident  Miinsterberg 
delighted  in  telling  at  his  own  table  ever  afterward. 

Before  returning  to  Boston,  Miinsterberg  stopped  at  New 
York  to  take  part  in  and  speak  at  the  reception  of  wel- 
come given  in  New  York  to  Professor  Burgess  who  had 
just  returned  from  Berlin  where  he  had  lectured  during 
the  winter  months  as  Roosevelt  Professor  sent  by  Columbia 
University. 

It  was  not  possible  for  Miinsterberg  to  accept  every 
invitation,  however  desirable  it  might  be.  President 
Schurman  of  Cornell,  who  had  invited  him  to  Ithaca,  wrote 
in  December,  1907:  '*As  to  a  lecture  we  want  by  all 
means  to  have  one  from  you.  I  am  most  attracted  by  the 
first  subject  you  mention,  namely  'Psychology  and 
Law' — "  DiflSculties  in  settling  on  a  date,  however,  pre- 
vented Miinsterberg  from  carrying  out  his  plan  of  re- 
sponding to  the  invitation,  and  presenting  his  ideas  on  the 
applied  science.  He  was  prevented  from  accepting  invi- 
tations not  only  to  Cornell  University,  where  his  eminent 
friend  and  colleague.  Professor  Titchener,  found  the  ideal 
surroundings  for  his  work,  but  also  to  others,  as  the  Uni- 
versity of  Minnesota,  and  the  Kansas  State  Agricultural 
College.  Indeed  when  Kansas  was  blessing  its  alumni 
whom  Miinsterberg  was  to  address,  he  was  sailing  on  the 
high  seas. 

There  was  one  city  that  Miinsterberg  visited  without 
lecturing  or  making  speeches  of  any  kind,  but  where  he 

151 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


found  stim  ilus  in  plenty  and  entertaining  hospitality, 
and  that  city  was  Washington.  In  November,  1906,  just 
before  a  short  winter  voyage  to  Europe,  he  enjoyed  such 
a  visit  in  the  capital,  where  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  in  the 
White  House.  Miinsterberg  found  the  President  always 
accessible,  hospitable  to  new  ideas,  intellectually  agile  in 
identifying  himself  with  any  interests  of  others  and,  in 
spite  of  his  delightful  self-assertion,  ready  to  follow  sug- 
gestions with  which  he  agreed. 

During  his  visit  to  Washington  in  November,  1906, 
Miinsterberg  attended  a  luncheon  at  the  White  House  to- 
gether with  Elihu  Root,  the  Secretary  of  State  and  Wil- 
liam H.  Taft,  the  Secretary  of  War.  A  little  incident  at 
that  luncheon  amused  Miinsterberg  later  when  he  recalled 
it  in  the  days  of  the  Taft  administration.  He  had  been 
seated  between  Mrs.  Taft  and  Mrs.  Root  and  heard  how 
the  President  jocosely  made  some  flattering  remarks  to 
Mrs.  Root.  All  at  once  the  host  of  the  White  House 
turned  seriously  to  Miinsterberg  and  said: 

**This  may  sound  as  if  I  were  talking  to  the  future 
President's  wife,  but  the  future  President's  wife  is  sit- 
ting at  the  other  side  of  you.'* 

This  visit  took  place  at  a  time  when  the  President  took 
a  lively  interest  in  those  educational  and  cultural  bonds 
— more  subtle  and  supple  than  political  or  commercial  ties 
— that  were  to  bring  about  understanding,  hence  sympathy 
and,  if  possible,  harmony  among  nations;  and  no  one  set 
more  ardent  hopes  on  the  virtue  of  these  ties  and  worked 
more  eagerly  to  fashion  them  than  the  Harvard  psycholo- 
gist. 

A  man  whose  appointment  as  American  Ambassador 
to  Berlin  Miinsterberg  eagerly  desired,  encouraged  and  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  made  actual  was  that  of  the 
scholar,  David  Jayne  Hill,  who  had  previously  been  Min- 
ister to  Switzerland  and  to  the   Netherlands.    In   him 

152 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 

Miinsterberg  saw  a  worthy  successor  to  Andrew  D.  White, 
one  who  would  carry  into  his  office  the  high  ideals  and 
broad  outlook  of  a  historian  as  well  as  a  statesman.  Both 
Mr.  White,  the  veteran  statesman  and  scholar,  and  the 
younger  aspirant  to  his  post  had  been  college  presidents 
as  well  as  teachers  and  productive  scholars,  both  were 
historians  and,  remarkable  as  such  a  minute  coincidence 
may  seem,  both  had  studied  and  written  about  the  life 
and  work  of  Hugo  Grotius. 

Here  are  two  letters  from  Mr.  Hill  just  after  he  had 
been  appointed  Ambassador. 

Washington,  D.  C.  Nov.  18,  1907. 

Dear  Professor  Munsterberg: 

Please  to  accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  charming 
letter  of  the  13th,  which  has  given  me  great  pleasure.  I 
deeply  appreciate  your  friendly  sentiments,  and  also  your  earnest 
desire  to  promote  the  good  understanding  between  our  tv^  coun- 
tries, in  which  you  have  been  so  useful. 

To  my  regret,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  see  you  in  New  York  next 
Thursday,  but  I  hope  to  have  an  opportunity  before  I  return  to 
my  post  toward  the  end  of  December.  The  transfer  to  Berlin 
will  not  take  place  imtil  next  spring. 

I  am  certain  at  some  time  to  need  your  valuable  advice,  and 
you  have  generously  made  access  to  you  for  counsel  so  available 
that  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  knock  at  your  door  when  occasion  may 

arise. 

With  great  appreciation  of  your  friendship  and  kindness,  and 
the  hope  that  I  may  be  of  service  in  the  good  cause  which  is  near 
the  hearts  of  us  both,  I  am,  my  dear  Professor  Miinsterberg, 

Faithfully  yours, 

David  J.  Hill 

Dec.  6,  1907, 

My  dear  Professor  Munsterberg, 

I  have  received  with  great  pleasure  your  recent  letter, 
with  enclosure,  your  letter  written  to  me  at  The  Hague,  and  your 
cablegram  of  congratulations  on  my  appointment  as  Ambassador 
to  Berlin.  I  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  see  you  in  person  before 
returning  to  my  old  post,  and  to  thank  you  with  the  living  voice 

153 


HUGO  MUNSTERBEIRG 

for  all  the  friendship  and  interest  yoiv  have  shown  to  me  and  find, 
however,  that  I  must  hasten  back  to  Europe,  and  it  is  now  quite 
certain  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  visit  Boston  before  my  depar- 
ture as  I  had  intended. 

I  devoutly  hope  that  Mrs.  Hill  and  I  may  be  able  to  fulfill  all 
expectations  of  our  friends  in  our  new  and  responsible  position. 
We  shall  enter  upon  our  task  with  an  earnest  desire  to  promote 
in  every  way  the  good  understanding  between  the  two  countries. 
Naturally,  we  shall  do  all  in  our  power  to  strengthen  the  aca- 
demic bond,  for  this  seems  to  me  one  of  the  most  natural  and 
potent  of  all.  We  shall  want  to  know  the  men  of  lemming,  and 
shall  feel  honored  by  their  acquaintance  and  society,  if  they  are 
generously  disposed  to  permit  us  to  enjoy  them.  We  cannot  if 
we  would,  and  wa  would  not  if  we  could,  set  up  an  establishment 
notable  for  its  luxury  or  magnificence.  We  should  like  better, 
if  circumstances  prove  favorable,  to  offer  a  modest,  but  a  cordial 
hospitality  to  these  who  find  satisfaction  in  the  interchange  of 
ideas  and  are  disposed  to  cultivate  sentiments  of  good  will  and 
mutual  understanding  between  our  country  and  the  Empire.  We 
shall  look  for  friends  everywhere,  and  I  hope  we  shall  find  them. 

I  shall  be  very  happy  always  to  hear  from  you,  and  shall  ap- 
preciate your  counsels. 

FMthf ully  yours, 

Da,vid  J.  Hill 


A  letter,  written  in  the  same  year  by  another  diplomat 
who  also  was  both  statesman  and  scholar,  may  be  of  interest 
for  the  light  it  throws  on  the  state  of  the  world's  mind  at 
the  time  before  the  great  upheaval. 

Mar.  12,  '07, 

Dear  Professor  Munsterberg, 

Thank  you  very  much  for  your  kind  letter,  as  also 
for  the  newspaper  cutting  giving  your  denial  to  the  misleading 
statements  of  the  European  interviewer — I  am  sorry  to  hear  that 
transatlantic  interviewing  methods  have  found  their  way  into 
Germany,  as  they  had  already  into  England.  I  had  not  seen  the 
statement  attributed  to  you,  but  knew  that  some  journals  had 
ascribed  an  anti-German  motive  .or  intention  to  my  going  to  the 
United  States  which,  however  absurd  to  those  who  knew  the  facts, 
might  have  been  believed  by  some,  so  I  am  glad  you  have  given 
it  so  vigorous  and  decided  a  contradiction.    I  need  not  tell  you 

154 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 

nothing  was  further  from  the  mind  of  the  British  Foreign  Of- 
fice. Had  they  desired  a  Germanophobe  here,  they  would  have 
shown  great  stupidity  in  their  selection. 

No  one  here,  where  all  have  been  most  friendly,  has  been  more 
friendly  than  the  German  Ambassador.  He  and  his  wife  are 
extremely  pleasant  and  cultivated  people,  and  I  trust  to  find 
much  pleasure  in  their  society. 

I  have  promised  to  be  at  Harvard  in  June,  and  look  forward  to 
seeing  you  there. 

Yours  sincerely. 

Jambs  Bryce 

On  March  3,  1909  ended  the  brilliant  administration  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  so  abundant  in  good  fruit  and  so 
firmly  stamped  with  his  individuality. 

In  the  quiet  conservatism  of  Roosevelt's  own  chosen 
successor,  in  his  sound  judgment  and  reliability  Miinster- 
berg  placed  much  confidence.  While  still  the  candidate 
of  the  Republican  party,  Mr.  Taf t  wrote : 

Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
October  21,  1908. 

My  dear  Sib, 

I  beg  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  13th  or 
October,  and  thank  you  for  writing  me  and  for  the  interest  and 
support  which  you  are  giving  my  candidacy.  I  appreciate 
what  you  have  done  in  the  past,  and  will  be  glad  to  let  you  know 
in  case  I  know  of  any  way  in  which  you  can  be  of  further 

assistance. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Wm.  H.  Taft 


Munsterberg 's  winter  trip  abroad  was  in  no  academic  or 
public  interest ;  he  traveled  straight  to  his  old  home  Danzig 
to  take  part  in  the  silver-wedding  celebration  of  his  oldest 
brother.  Otto.  This  journey  covered  the  Christmas  vaca- 
tion at  Harvard  and  the  midyear  examination  period  with 

155 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


only  a  short  extra  * 'leave  of  absence'';  it  was  taken  up  for 
the  mctet  part  with  family  reunions,  althougji  Miinsterberg 
managed  to  renew  contact  not  only  with  his  old  friend 
Rickert  at  Freiburg,  but  with  various  other  scholars  of 
note  such  as  Harnack,  Wundt,  Waldeyer,  and  others. 

The  following  summer  vacation,  as  well  as  the  preceding 
one,  was  passed  on  the  New  England  coast,  and  not  till 
the  summer  of  1908  did  Miinsterberg  spend  the  summer 
abroad.  At  Berlin  he  was  glad  to  have  conversations  with 
Mr.  Hill,  now  installed  as  Ambassador.  This  was  also 
the  time  when  the  first  seed  for  the  America  Institute, 
which  two  years  later  proved  to  be  a  valuable  enterprise, 
sprang  up  in  the  mind  of  Althoff,  the  brilliant  and  power- 
ful administrator  of  Prussian  academic  affairs,  shortly 
before  his  death  in  October,  1908.  This  institute  will  be 
described  fully  in  another  chapter. 

It  was  never  Miinsterberg 's  custom  to  pass  in  comparative 
idleness  even  the  vacations  he  spent  abroad;  and  so,  at 
the  peaceful  country  house  of  his  oldest  brother,  with  an 
outlook  over  a  rambling  flower  garden,  he  dictated  and 
made  ready  for  the  printer  a  German  hook  that  appeared 
soon  after,  under  the  title  Aus  Deutsch-Amerika. 

During  that  summer,  however,  there  was  not  much  time 
for  quiet  work;  for  it  was  especially  a  summer  of  con- 
gresses. In  Berlin  Miinsterberg  had  attended  the  Inter- 
national Historical  Congress;  in  Heidelberg,  during  the 
first  week  of  September,  he  took  active  part  in  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Philosophers.  No  more  charming 
background  for  a  festive  assembly  of  the  lovers  of  wis- 
dom from  other  lands  could  have  been  chosen  than  the 
mediaeval  town  on  the  banks  of  the  Neckar,  girt  round 
by  lovely  woods  and  crowned  by  the  aged  castle  ruin 
that  overlooks  the  smiling  valley.  The  town  was  not 
only  decorated  with  flags  and  garlands  to  receive  the 
philosophic  guests  who  swarmed  in  happy  holiday  mood 

156 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 


through  the  quaint  winding  streets,  but  the  whole  popula- 
tion radiated  welcome,  so  that  even  the  advertisements  in 
the  window  bore  courteous  quotations  from  Kant.     The 
meetings  were  held  in  the  historic  halls  of  the  mediaeval 
university,  and  the  President  of  the  Congress  was  the 
venerable  philosopher   of  Heidelberg,   the  leader  of  the 
Idealists,   Professor  Windelband.     Eminent   philosophers 
had  come  from  different  countries,  conspicuous  among  them 
the  French  thinker  and  President  of  the  Fondation  Thiers, 
Professor  Emil  Boutroux,  who  afterwards  visited  America 
and  lectured  at  Harvard.     American  philosophy  was  repre- 
sented by  Josiah  Royce,  who  delivered  one  of  the  leading 
addresses.    Never  did  Miinsterberg  forget  how,  the  first 
day  in  Heidelberg,  he  met  Royce  wandering  in  blissful 
solitude   about   the   dreamy   nooks   and   corners   of   the 
castle,  reviving  memories  of  his  happy  student  days  in 
those  very  haunts  thirty  years  before.    Miinsterberg  him- 
self presided  over  the  psychological  sections.    Although 
there  were  undoubtedly  valuable  scholarly  contributions 
— and  the  impetus  generated  by  sharp  conflicts  of  opinion 
was  of  no  small  importance — ^yet  on  the  whole,  it  was  the 
social  contact,  the  harmonious  congregation  of  philosophers 
in  holiday  spirits,  and  the  feeling  that  distinctions  of  age, 
nationality,  and  custom  dissolved  in  the  warmth  of  the 
common  devotion  to  the  ultimate  problems  that  made  such 
a    Congress   really   worth    while.     No    more    joyful    fes- 
tivities could  have  been  planned  for  the  members  of  the 
Congress  and  their  families  than  the  joint  excursions  into 
the  fragrant  woods  where  rustic  inns  were  opened  hospit- 
ably to  the  jovial  company  of  thinkers,  or  the  evening  sails 
in  large  decorated  river  launches  down  the  Neckar  while 
the   night   was   made   brilliant   with    fireworks   and   the 
illumination  of  the  aged  castle. 
At  the  end  of  the  summer,  Miinsterberg  visited  Paris 

157 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


with  his  family  and  his  youngest  brother,  and  sailed  from 
Cherbourg  in  time  for  the  opening  of  college.  This  brief 
tourist's  visit  was  destined  to  be  his  last  one  to  Paris, 
where  he  had  formerly  taken  active  part  in  psychological 
congresses  and  had  even  met  his  fate  in  the  form  of 
William  James. 

At  his  house  in  Cambridge,  MUnsterberg's  social  life, 
during  the  period  just  chronicled,  continued  to  be  varied 
and  a  source  of  pleasure.  Many  men  either  distinguished 
or  entertaining  in  some  sphere  of  interest  crossed  his 
threshold,  among  them  Professor  Simon  Newcomb,  with 
whom  he  had  been  so  closely  associated  in  the  work  for 
the  great  Congress  at  St.  Louis. 

In  the  autumn  of  1906  a  purely  social  organization  was 
formed  in  Boston  at  the  instance  of  Professor  Kuno 
Francke,  for  the  cultivation  of  interest  in  German  art 
and  literature,  particularly  for  the  benefit  of  those  Bos- 
tonians  whose  interest  had  been  roused  through  foreign 
travel.  This  organization  had  a  most  flourishing  career, 
with  ever-growing  membership,  so  that  at  one  Christmas 
entertainment  there  was  an  attendance  of  six  hundred 
spectators.  Illustrious  scholars  and  well  known  authors 
who  happened  to  be  traveling  in  the  country  were  asked 
to  lecture  or  read,  beginning  with  the  theologian  and 
historian,  Pfleiderer.  The  first  president  of  this  Boston 
German  Society  was  Mrs.  Higginson,  wife  of  Major  Henry 
L.  Higginson  of  Boston,  the  founder  and  supporter  of  the 
Boston  Symphony.  Miinsterberg  was  president  from  1908 
-1910. 

In  November,  1907,  a  congress  for  experts  in  municipal 
and  other  charities  assembled  in  New  York.  This  was  of 
interest  to  Miinsterberg  because  his  brother  Emil,  a  leader 
in  this  field,  was  one  of  the  delegates.  The  latter 's 
daughter,  Else  Miinsterberg,  who  a  few  years  later  trans- 

158 


SAGES  AND  SINNERS 


lated  Jane  Addams'  Twenty  Tears  in  Hull  House,  and 
afterwards  married  the  English  author,  William  Harbutt 
Dawson,  remained  in  Cambridge  and  spent  a  winter  in 
the  household  of  her  uncle  Hugo.  ^ 


iFor  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chap- 
ter see  Appendix,  pages  362-382. 


CHAPTER    X 

TEMPORAL  CURRENTS  AND  ETERNAL  VALUES 
(October,  1908— July,  1910) 

In  the  autumn  of  1908  a  new  division  became  part  of 
the  organization  of  the  Harvard  Psychological  Laboratory, 
namely,  that  of  Applied  Psychology.  This  meant  the 
coming  of  age  of  the  youngest  science  that  had  grown  in 
recent  years  on  Harvard  ground  under  Miinsterberg  *8  per- 
sistent care.  In  this  academic  year,  moreover,  Miinster- 
berg's  salary  was  raised  to  the  maximum  sum  with  which 
a  scholar  was  ever  recompensed  at  Harvard.  Perhaps  it 
might  be  said  that  in  this  year,  which  was  remarkably 
fruitful,  the  recognized  influence  of  the  Harvard  psychol- 
ogist had  reached  it  high  watermark,  though,  to  be  sure, 
such  a  statement  is  arbitrary  and  the  image  is  not  meant 
to  suggest  an  ebb  thenceforward. 

Miinsterberg,  the  psychologist,  never  ceased  to  be  the 
philosopher.  Indeed,  we  must  not  forget  that  the  system- 
atic presentation  of  his  philosophy  had  already  appeared 
in  1907  and  was  to  be  published  in  English  form  in  1909 
under  the  title  '^Eternal  Values.''  Thus  he  lived  and 
moved  in  the  midst  of  philosophic  ideas,  in  spite  of  the 
more  popularly  assertive  nature  of  the  psychological  inter- 
ests, and  this  faithfulness  to  the  eternal  problems  was  grate- 
fully recognized  by  students  and  colleagues.  In  1908-1909 
Miinsterberg  was  President  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Association.  At  its  eighth  annual  meeting  at  Johns  Hop- 
kins University  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  1908,  he  de- 
livered the  presidential  address  on  **The  Problem  of 
Beauty."    The  address  began  with  these  words: 

160 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 

The  masterly  presidential  address  of  my  predecessor  in  this 
office  was  devoted  to  "The  Problem  of  Truth."    He  spoke  with 
authority  a  unifying  word  in  the  struggles  which  characterize 
American  philosophy  of  to-day.    He  focused  the  interest  of  our 
Association  on  the  one  central  point  from  which  our  discussions 
in  recent  years  have  been  derived,  and  there  certainly  can  be  no 
higher  mission  for  such  presidential  addresses  than  to  give  ex- 
pression in  this  way  to  that  which  stands  in  the  foreground  of 
our  thoughts.    Yet,  is  it  merely  the  law  of  psychical  contrast 
which  makes  me  believe  that  there  is  one  thing  not  less  impor- 
tant than  the  center  of  our  interests,  namely,  the  center  of  our 
neglects?    Am  I  entirely  wrong  in  thinking  that  if  such  a  presi- 
dential address  has  to  accentuate  a  certain  problem,  it  may  be 
right  to  work  against  philosophical  one-sidedness  by  emphasiz- 
ing not  those  problems  which  are  daily  with  us  but  those  which 
we  have  forgotten  and  almost  lost!    One-sidedness  is  nowhere 
more  dangerous  than  m  philosophy,  for  every  true  philosophical 
question  and  answer  is  related  to  the  whole  philosophical  uni- 
verse.    To  give  attention  to  a  fraction  only  must  always  lead  to 
a  distorted  view  of  reality.    In  every  other  field  of  intellectual 
effort  the  division  of  labor  may  demand  a  one-sided  concentra- 
tion, and  perhaps  without  serious  harm.    In  philosophy  there 
never  was,  and  never  can  be,  a  movement  which  does  not  pay  a 
grave  penalty  for  the  neglect  of  any  fundamental  side  of  hfe. 
Truth  and  morality,  beauty  and  religion  give  meaning  to  our 
life;  and  the  experience  which  philosophy  seeks  to  interpret  and 
to  understand  is  falsified,  if  you  substitute  one  single  color  for  the 
rainbow  of  reality,  if  you  discuss  the  question  of  truth  alone. 

Surely,  I  have  no  right  to  say  that  this  has  occurred  wholly. 
The  philosophical  problems  of  morality  and  religion  have  been 
unduly  suppressed  by  the  interest  in  the  problem  of  truth,  but 
they  were  never  really  brought  into  silence.  Their  mner  life  en- 
ergy makes  them  heard  even  where  they  seem  to  be  unwelcome. 
Only  one  ideal  has  suffered  the  full  severity  of  the  situation; 
while  no  one  in  his  fights  about  truth  has  dared  entirely  to  forget 
that  there  is  morality  in  the  world  too,  American  philosophers, 
with  two  or  three  notable  exceptions,  have  not  cared  to  remember 
that  beauty  also  is  interwoven  in  the  life  we  aim  to  understand. 
I  claim  that,  without  forgetting  that  the  empirical  psychology  of 
the  sense  of  beauty,  the  experimental  analysis  and  the  physio- 
logical explanation,  have  given  us  some  strong  contributions  to  a 
psychological  esthetics.    The  psychologist  has  not  to  speak  the 

161 


HUGO  MIINSTERBERQ 


last  word  here,  and  nobody  would  suppose  that  he  has,  if  we  had 
not  so  carelessly  and  so  persistently  neglected  the  philosophy  of 
beauty. 

In  December,  1909,  the  Psychological  Association,  with 
Professor  Judd  of  Yale  as  President,  met  at  Harvard, 
where  it  had  last  convened  at  the  time  of  the  opening 
of  Emerson  Hall. 

Again  Miinsterberg's  mail  was  flooded  with  invitations 
to  lecture.  Although  a  large  part  of  these  had  to  be 
declined,  he  yet  responded  to  not  a  few.  The  women's 
colleges  seem  to  have  been  especially  favored;  yet  even 
schools  were  not  neglected.  The  Commercial  Club  of 
Chicago,  the  Contemporary  Club  of  Philadelphia,  the 
Canadian  Club  of  Toronto,  the  New  York  Booster's  Club 
won  response  to  their  invitations.  *  *  Practical  Psychology 
was  the  most  favored  topic,  yet  the  delicate  subject  of 
''Prohibition''  was  also  in  demand;  the  heated  discus- 
sion that  swept  round  Miinsterberg's  address  to  the  Con- 
temporary Club  has  already  been  anticipated  in  a  previous 
chapter.  He  gave  lectures  of  a  more  academic  nature 
at  Cornell  University,  where  he  was  welcomed  by  his  friend 
and  colleague.  Professor  Titchener,  the  incarnation  of 
the  psychological  research  work  at  Cornell.  In  November, 
1908,  President  James  H.  Baker  asked  Miinsterberg  to 
give  the  commencement  address  at  the  University  of  Colo- 
rado. A  call  so  far  west,  however,  he  could  not  follow; 
but  in  January,  1910,  he  delivered  an  address  before  the 
Ohio  State  University.  Miinsterberg  also  gave  university 
extension  courses  at  Philadelphia,  and  lectured  to  theolo- 
gians at  the  Harvard  Summer  School.  An  idea  of  the 
strenuousness  of  his  intellectual  life  may  be  had  by  con- 
sidering that  such  a  lecture  program,  which  involved 
considerable  traveling  and  often  tiring  social  intercourse 
with  strangers,  was  carried  out  merely  as  a  lighter  ac- 

162 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 

companiment  to  the  academic  routine  and  concentrated 

creative  work. 

For  a  man  who  pervades  all  his  activities  with  a  certain 
intellectual  intensity,  it  is  difficult,  nay,  aimless,  to  dis- 
tinguish between  duty  and  pleasure.  In  his  case  duty 
will  be  turned  into  pleasure,  and  enterprises  that  are 
intended  as  pleasure  will  invariably  be  carried  out  with 
a  sense  of  duty.  Into  this  doubtful  category  falls  a  most 
pleasurable,  yet,  in  spite  of  its  luxurious  accompaniment, 
decidedly  fatiguing  journey  through  Canada  in  the  society 
of  prominent  British  and  American  scholars. 

The  British  Association  for  Advancement  of  Science  was 
to  meet  in  a  great  congress  of  naturalists  at  Winnipeg, 
and  in  order  to  attract  prominent  scientists  from  Eng- 
land, the  Canadian  Government  invited  them  to  a  jour- 
ney on  a  special  train  from  Winnipeg  to  the  Pacific  Coast 
through  all  the  marvelous  beauties  of  the  Canadian  high- 
lands. As  a  further  inducement,  they  were  to  be  given  the 
opportunity  of  meeting  a  few  scientists  from  American 
universities  who  were  also  to  be  guests  of  the  Government. 

One  of  these  was  Miinsterberg.  After  some  hesitation 
about  leaving  his  quiet,  contemplative  summer  retreat  for 
the  whirlpool  of  a  congress  and  a  long  journey  during  which 
privacy  was  impossible,  he  decided  to  accept  the  invitation, 
and  on  August  25,  1909,  he  found  himself  in  the  Royal 
Alexandra  Hotel  at  Winnipeg  in  a  company  of  British 
scientists.  Of  his  journey  thither  he  wrote  home:  **My 
incognito  did  not  work— the  whole  train  is  swarming  with 
science,  whereby  the  heat  is  not  diminished."  And  another 
time:  '*The  long  ride  was  like  a  steamer  trip;  every  one 
knew  every  one ;  one  made  calls  on  one  another,  sat  round  in 
groups  and  chatted  till  five  o'clock  in  the  morning."  At 
Winnipeg  1,500  scientists,  mostly  Englishmen,  were 
gathered  for  a  week  of  lecturing,  talking,  banqueting, 
and  the  like.    The  congress  was  opened  with  an  impressive 

163 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


ceremony.  **I  sat  on  the  stage  of  the  theater/'  Miinster- 
berg  wrote  home.  **The  brilliant  address  of  President 
Thompson  and  the  speech  of  Lord  Strathcona,  who  has 
come  over  here  now  at  89  years  of  age,  after  he  had,  fifty 
years  ago,  as  simple  workman  '?reated  Winnipeg  out  of  the 
desert — ^these  were  indeed  unforgettable  impressions  be- 
cause of  the  historic  contrast." 

Miinsterberg  took  a  lively  part  in  the  discussions  in  the 
educational  section;  his  lecture  on  ** Psychology  and  Edu- 
cation** was  followed  by  a  vote  of  thanks.  He  was  prob- 
ably the  only  psychologist  in  the  convention,  which  was 
composed,  for  the  most  part,  of  physicists  and  chemists. 

The  city  of  Winnipeg  seemed  to  Miinsterberg  a  *  *  peculiar 
mixture  of  civilization  and  prairie.**  He  saw  it  in  its 
festive  attire,  as  there  was  a  round  of  those  festivities 
that  always  attend  congresses,  but  this  time  with  a  flavor 
belonging  to  the  special  place  of  meeting.  A  lawn  party 
was  given  by  the  President  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
and  receptions  by  the  Governor  and  by  Lord  Strathcona. 
On  September  2nd  the  honored  guests  of  the  Government, 
some  of  them  accompanied  by  their  families,  started  out 
on  their  memorable  journey:  180  travelers  there  were  in 
the  luxurious  special  train,  20  in  each  car,  including 
three  reporters  and  a  photographer.  It  was  a  unique 
company  that  sped  across  the  continent,  with  uninterrupted 
leisure  for  inspired  exchange  of  ideas  or  entertaining 
yarns.  Among  the  names  of  those  whom  Miinsterberg 
ever  afterward  associated  with  this  congenial  gathering 
were  J.  J.  Thompson,  Waller,  Armstrong,  Goldstein,  Wat- 
son, Bigwater,  Holland,  Richardson,  Smith,  Reichenheim 
and  William  White.  The  journey  was  made  with  an 
almost  miraculous  punctuality;  there  was  a  special  rail- 
road official  in  the  train  whose  function  it  was  to  see 
that  this  ** scientific**  train  had  precedence  over  all  others, 
so  that  other  trains  had  to  wait  till  it  had  passed  by. 

164 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 


Through  Regina,  Calgary,  Banff  to  Vancouver  the  scien- 
tists were  carried  as  through  a  wonderland,  and  wherever 
they  stopped,  they  were  welcomed  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  or  village. 

One  stop   at  an  Indian   settlement  Miinsterberg  used 
to  recall  with  special  pleasure.    An  Indian  deputation  of 
chiefs,  in  full  gala  costumes  of  their  tribe,  which  they 
donned  only  on  supreme  occasions,  was  at  the  station  to 
honor  the  Dominion's  guests  with  noble  ceremony.    Dis- 
creet inquiry  was  made  by  the  scientists  what  the  heart's 
desire  of  these  true  aristocrats  might  be,  and  after  it  had 
been  confided,  immediately  a  sum  was  raised  by  which 
the  Indians  were  to  be  presented  with  two  fine  new  ponies. 
The  glories  of  the  gigantic  highlands  near  Banff  and  be- 
yond enchanted  the  nature  loiver  in  Miinsterberg.    From  the 
last  mountain  stop,  Glacier,  British  Columbia,  he  wrote 
enthusiastically  of  his  two  ideal  days  in  the  mountains,  spent 
walking  and  climbing  in  perfect  ease  and  delight,  braced 
by  the  wonderful  rare  mountain  air.     On  September  7th 
the  company  reached  Vancouver,  and  from  there  embarked 
for  Victoria,  where  great  festivities  were  planned.    Miin- 
sterberg, however,  went  alone  by  the  night  boat  to  Seattle 
where  he  wished  to  look  at  the  Alaska- Yukon-Pacific  Ex- 
position.    For  a  day  he  wandered  about,  no  doubt  enjoy- 
ing this  brief  solitude  on  the  exposition  ground.     The  ex- 
hibitions of  Alaska  and  Japan  impressed  him,  the  rest  not 
at  all;  but  he  bought  some  bronzes  that  after  his  return 
adorned  his  house  in  Cambridge  and  brought  to  his  mind 
the   British   Association  with   a   Rocky  Mountain   back- 
ground.   At  Vancouver  he  rejoined  his  fellow  travelers 
and  started  on  the  smooth,  swift  ''extra**  journey  to  Win- 
nipeg, where  the  congenial  party  disbanded,  and  the  guest 
from'  Harvard  entrusted  himself  to  ordinary  trains  that 
carried  him  home,  ready  for  tranquility  and  work. 
The  academic  year  of  1909-1910  opened  by  no  means  with 

165 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

the  usual  routine.  This  was  the  time  when  President 
Charles  William  Eliot  stepped  down  from  his  presidential 
seat,  after  forty  years  of  eminent  administration,  during 
which  he  had  raised  Harvard  to  one  of  the  great  scholarly 
universities  of  the  world.  Miinsterberg  had  always  had 
a  profound  admiration  for  President  Eliot  as  well  as  an 
affectionate  regard.  Therefore,  whenever  their  opinions 
conflicted,  which  happened  not  infrequently,  and  even  led 
to  temporary  friction,  there  always  remained  a  foundation 
of  mutual  kindliness.  The  chief  of  these  discords,  strange 
as  this  may  seem  to-day  in  the  light  of  subsequent  dis- 
tortions of  history,  was  due  to  Miinsterberg 's  very  much 
qualified  approval  of  the  international  professorial  ex- 
change. The  shadow  of  this  difference,  however,  passed 
away ;  and  when  President  Eliot,  still  as  vigorous  as  a  man 
in  his  prime,  of  his  own  will  stepped  aside  for  a  younger 
successor,  Miinsterberg  felt  only  regret  that  Harvard  should 
lose  at  once  its  builder  and  its  chief  buttress,  and  gratitude 
to  the  educator  who  had  always  understood  the  spirit 
of  the  creative  scholar  and  valued  the  fruit  of  this  spirit. 
Five  years  earlier,  after  the  world  and  the  Harvard 
world  in  particular  had  celebrated  Eliot 's  seventieth  birth- 
day, he  had  written  to  Miinsterberg: 


Harvard  University, 
Cambbidqe,  Mwrdh  22,  1904. 
Dear  Dr.  Muksterberg: 

I  shall  be  very  glad  to  read  your  book  on  American 
life  next  summer  at  Mt.  Desert.  That  is  the  only  time  of  year 
when  I  can  read  much. 

You  have  been  witness  to  a  rather  striking  demonstration  of 
the  spirit  and  behavior  of  Harvard  graduates  and  undergraduates 
when  they  really  set  about  telling  a  veteran  in  their  service  what 
they  think  of  him.  Although  rather  inexpressive  in  ordinary 
life,  at  a  crisis  they  manage  to  express  themselves  with  some 
force. 
Your  coming  to  the  University,  and  your  service  to  it,  have 

166 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 

been  among  the  very  interesting  features  of  my  work  during  the 
last  twelve  years.  Thirty  years  from  now  I  think  you  will  be 
able  to  record  many  remarkable  changes  in  American  life  since 
you  first  surveyed  it;  and  the  changes  in  the  University  will  not 

be  the  least  interesting. 

Very  truly  yours, 
Charles  W.  Eliot 

**  Thirty  years  from  now^"!  At  the  present  time, 
eighteen  years  later.  President  Emeritus  Eliot,  still  erect 
and  brisk,  is  surveying  *' remarkable  changes''  not  only 
in  America,  but  in  the  whole  world ;  the  eyes  of  the  younger 
sage,  to  whom  his  prophecy  was  spoken,  have  mercifully 

been  closed. 

The  inauguration  of  the  new  president,  though  it  had 
no  immediate  effect  on  Miinsterberg 's  life,  marked  so 
prominent  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Harvard  that  it 
cannot  well  be  passed  over.  As  a  matter  of  fact.  Professor 
Lowell  had  already  been  acting  president  since  the  be- 
ginning of  1909,  and  had  conferred  degrees  at  Commence- 
ment. 

The  inauguration  ceremonies  were  remarkably  pictur- 
esque, and  impressive  also  because  of  the  symbolic  and 
historic  significance  of  the  three  hundred  foreign  and 
domestic  delegates,  come  to  honor  the  newest  president  of 
one  of  the  oldest  colleges  in  America.  Wednesday,  Oc- 
tober 6,  1909,  was  a  brilliant  October  day ;  sunshine  from 
a  deep  blue  sky  brightened  the  ivy  on  the  venerable  crimson 
buildings.  On  this  day  under  the  open  sky  in  the  college 
yard  the  ceremonies  were  enacted.  A  platform  was  raised 
in  front  of  University  Hall,  bearing  900  chairs  for  the 
dignitaries,  guests,  and  delegates,  with  a  canopied  dais  in 
the  center  for  the  President.  The  alumni  chorus  was 
seated  in  front  of  the  platform,  and  the  spectators  sat  in 
the  still,  brisk  open  air  on  eight  thousand  seats,  or, 
if  they  were  undergraduates,  on  the  roofs  of  the  college 

167 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

buildings.  Stately  was  the  procession,  led  by  the  chief 
Marshal,  T.  N.  Perkins  '91  of  the  Corpopation,  of  the 
President  Emeritus,  the  Oyerseers,  deans,  and  professors; 
the  column  of  foreign  and  national  delegates  led  by  the 
University  Marshal,  M,  H.  Morgan;  Governor  Draper 
with  the  Lieutentant-'Govemor,  the  Governor's  military 
staff,  etc. ;  and  finally  the  Latin  orator,  the  Secretary,  the 
Bursar,  and  the  Librarian  with  seal,  keys,,  and  the  college 
charter  on  a  parchment  roll,  the  Bishop,  the  President  of 
the  Board  of  Overseers,  ex-Governor  Long,  and  the  Presi- 
dent-Elect.  A  dignified,  mediaeval  ceremony  was  the 
solemn  induction  of  the  President  by  ex-Governor  Long 
with  charter,  seal,  and  keys,  and  the  new  President's 
formal  reply^ 

The  President's  inaugural  addrfess  expressed  high  ideals. 
The  immediate  practical  program  was  concerned  mainly 
with  a  reaction  against  the  extreme  elective  system  that 
had  flourished  under  his  predecessor,  a  proposal  for  the 
concentration  on  one  line  of  study  combined  with  a 
grounding  in  various  other  subjects.  The  hopes  set 
on  the  leavening  and  democratic  effect  of  the  freshman 
dormitories  were  given  special  emphasis.  But  the  sentiment 
th^jt  must  have  kindled  faith  in  the  breasts  of  creative 
scholars  like  Miinsterberg  was  the  declaration  of  the  glory 
of  scholarship  in  words  like  these: 

"We  do  not  make  oui*  students  enjoy  the  sense  of  power  that 
flows  from  the  mastery  of  a  diflficult  subject,  and  on  a  higher 
plane  we  do  not  make  them  feel  the  romance  of  scholarly  dis- 
covery. .  .  .  Too  often  a  professor  of  original  power  explains 
to  docile  pupils  the  process  of  mining  intellectual  gold,  without 
seeking  nuggets  himself.  .  .  ."  And  the  closing  words :  "When 
the  young  men  shall  see  visions,  the  dreams  of  old  men  will 
come  true." 

The  new  President's  first  duty,  to  which  \e  turned  im- 
mediately, was  to   confer  honorary   degrees  on   a  great 

168 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 

number  of  distinguished  delegates  who  had  come,  many 
from  very  far,  to  do  him  honor.  The  art  of  bestowing 
degrees  gracefully  with  the  apt  word  for  each  recipient, 
President  Lowell  mastered.  It  is  well  known  that  to  many, 
such  ceremonies  and  oflBcial  compliments  seem  vain  and 
shallow.  These  scoffers,  like  unmusical  people  at  a  sym- 
phony, must  be  excused  becausfe  of  their  lack  of  that 
historic  and  assthetic  sense  that  sees  substance  in  symbols. 
On  that  bright  October  day  the  many  colored  hoods  on  the 
academic  gowns  of  all  the  great  universities  of  the  world 
were  a  gay  sight,  conspicuous  among  them  the  white 
fleece  of  the  Oxford  hood.  Honorary  degrees  were  be- 
stowed upon  representatives  of  Oxford,  Cambridge,  Glas- 
gow, Liverpool,  Copenhagen  universities,  the  College  de 
France,  universities  at  Groningen,  Berlin,  McGill,  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  and  upon  presidents  of  the  American  uni- 
versities Columbia,  Virginia,  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
Illinois,  Cornell,  Johns  Hopkins,  and  Chicago. 

Some  of  the  speeches  with  which  the  degrees  were  be- 
stowed may  well  be  quoted  as  examples  of  aptness,  and 
also  as  historic  curiosities  when  viewed  from  the  angle 
of  subsequent  events: 

Doctor  of  Letters: 

James  Bryce,  delegate  from  the  University  of  Oxford;  guide, 
honored  and  beloved  by  all  students  of  political  science,  whose 
portrayal  of  our  Government  will  last  as  long  as  books  are  read ; 
an  envoy  who  has  earned  the  gratitude  of  two  nations  by  draw- 
ing closer  the  ties  that  bind  the  children  of  a  common  stock. 

Doctor  of  Letters : 

Joseph  Bedier,  delegate  from  the  College  de  France;  a  scholar 
who  adds  luster  to  a  famous  chair;  a  Frenchman,  inspired  by 
the  literary  splendors  of  his  country,  who  has  illuminated  the 
origins  of  French  romance. 


Doctor  of  Letters : 
Eduard  Meyer,  classical  historian,  unsurpassed  by  living  man; 

169 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 


doubly  welcome  here,  as  delegate  from  the  University  of  Berlin, 
and  as  our  fellow  teacher  and  comrade  for  the  coming  year. 

Doctor  of  Laws: 

Otto  Gierke,  delegate  from  the  University  of  Berlin;  soldier, 
historian,  jurist;  who  as  a  youth  won  the  Iron  Cross  at  the  siege 
of  Mezieres,  and  as  a  man  has  compelled  the  admiration  of  all 
scholars  by  his  immatched  knowledge  of  legal  and  political 
thought  since  the  Middle  Ages. 

At  the  luncheon  after  the  ceremony  a  telegram  was 
read  from  Adolphus  Busch  announcing  an  increase  of  his 
gift  from  $100,000  to  $150,000  for  the  Germanic  Museum 
at  Harvard.  A  second  telegram  was  read  from  President 
Taft  who  was  in  San  Francisco. 

For  Miinsterberg,  the  academic  year  opened  much  as 
had  preceding  years,  and  it  was  only  in  the  course  of 
time  that  the  change  in  the  administration  made  itself 
felt. 

It  has  been  said  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter  that  the 
Harvard  Psychological  Laboratory  had  now  a  new  division 
for  applied  psychology.  In  the  foregoing  chapter  we  have 
observed  a  concentration  on  the  application  of  psychology 
to  the  problems  of  law  and  criminology.  Miinsterberg 's 
experience  in  psychotherapy  has  been  mentioned  fre- 
quently, and  it  has  been  shown  how  familiarity  with  the 
methods  of  treating  mental  symptoms  was  a  decided  help  in 
solving  the  problems  of  justice  and  crime.  The  year 
1908-09,  however,  stood  preeminently  under  the  sign  of 
psychotherapeutic  interests.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the 
psychologist  was  gathering  his  material,  the  fruit  of  his 
manifold  experiments,  into  a  comprehensive  study  of  the 
whole  field  of  psychotherapy.  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that,  although  the  cases  he  accepted  from  among  the 
many  that  came  to  him  were  all  chosen  for  their  scien- 
tific value,  it  was  none  the  less  his  heart's  desire  to  help 
the  suffering  patients.    And,  indeed,  he  was  a  **  beloved 

170 


physician."    Weeks  of  patient  devotion  to  a  case  were 
rewarded  by  the  happiness  of  the  sufferer  who,  restored 
to  health  and  fitness,  walked  cheerfully  forth  into  the 
sunshine.    But  to  watch  the  painful  struggle  of  tortured 
patients  against  destructive  habits  and  perversities  often 
meant  a  strain  on  the  nerves  of  the  healer,  which  were 
sensitive,  and  the  fulfillment  of  this  self-imposed  duty 
required  no  small  sacrifice.    Most  varied  was  the   pro- 
cession of  the  tortured  who  approached  him  with  a  last 
ray  of  hope.    There  was  the  man  who  had  heard  of  a 
woman's  suicide  by  poison  soon  after  meeting  her  at  a 
gay  dinner,  and  had,  ever  after  the  shock  of  this  contrast, 
been  haunted,  particularly  at  meals,  by  the  vision  of  a 
woman  drinking  a  glass  of  poison ;  there  was  the  physician 
who  felt  a  scratching  and  cutting  sensation  in  his  wrist 
at  the  sight  of  a  knife  or  razor;  the  school  teacher  who, 
though  she  knew  no  man,  had  a  morbid  fear  of  having 
a  child;  the  young  writer  who  felt  herself  under  the  un- 
canny influence  of  an  editor,  and  who,  after  tearing  her- 
self away  from  his  domination,  found  that  she  could  not 
write  at  all.    There  was  the  young  scholar  who  suffered 
whenever  he  was  either  in  a  crowd  or  in  some  high  place 
looking  down ;  the  lady  who  had  lost  her  husband  and  who 
from  seeing  headlines  in  the  newspaper  announcing  his 
death  by  suicide,  had  such  a  shock  that  the  sight  of  scis- 
sors brought  about  torturing  hallucinations  of  daggers. 
An  epileptic  young  woman  came  who  had  all  her  life  been 
troubled  by  hearing  voices;  a  man  who  could  not  over- 
come a  fear  of  walking  in  the  street ;  stammerers  sought 
relief.    Finally  a  young  woman  who  ever  since  she  once 
noticed  a  certain  man  whose  two  eyes  were  of  different 
colors  was  found  to  look  from  one  eye  to  another  of  every 
face  she  saw,  till  she  was  driven  almost  to  distraction. 

Strange  symptoms  these,  and  to  the  robust  and  ignorant 
layman  they  may  even  seem  absurd.    Truly  he  who  does 

171 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 


m 


tmr 


not  know  the  gloom,  the  utter  misery  of  these  seemingly 
flimsy  maladies  cannot  measure  the  blessing  of  relief  from 
such  torment  more  horrible  than  bodily  pain.  Some  of 
the  cases  mentioned  above  were  cured  by  hypnotism ;  some 
by  suggestive  treatment  without  the  need  of  hypnotic 
sleep;  a  number  of  patients  were  even  treated  by  sug- 
gestion through  the  mail  without  personal  contact.  The 
details  of  the  curative  methods  shall  not  here  be  con- 
sidered, for  they  are  recorded  in  the  volume  Psychotherarpy 
which  shall  be  examined  later. 

Not  only  strange,  eccentric  symptoms,  like  those  de- 
scribed above,  were  cured  by  hypnotic  treatment,  but  those 
vices  that  are  universally  known  to  be  destructive.  The 
case  has  elsewhere  been  cited  of  the  miserable  morphinist 
who  with  devotion  on  the  part  of  the  hypnotist  and  pain- 
ful struggles  on  his  own  part  was  restored  to  normal  life 
and  happiness.  Even  through  correspondence  Miinster- 
berg  was  able  to  help  distant  sufferers  by  starting  and 
guiding  their  autosuggestions.  With  the  cocaine  habit  it 
was  the  same  as  with  the  morphine  habit,  also  with  the 
combination,  which  is  frequent,  of  morphine  and  cocaine. 
One  patient,  a  physician,  who  became  a  slave  to  cocaine 
which  poisoned  his  brain,  was  tormented  by  sound-hal- 
lucinations that  he  believed  to  be  the  .voice  of  an  accusing 
brother.  After  ten  days  of  hypnotic  treatment  he  gave 
up  cocaine  entirely,  after  three  weeks  the  voices  dis- 
appeared and  slowly  the  other  symptoms  faded  away. 
The  pathological  idea  of  the  telepathetic  influence  lasted  a 
while  after  the  voices  had  gone  until  this  idea,  too,  yielded 
to  suggestion.  It  still  took  six  weeks  before  he  himself 
felt  that  he  was  entirely  normal. 

Miinsterberg  treated  drunkards,  too,  and  his  experi- 
ence with  them  gave  him  additional  authority  to  judge 
the  problem  of  prohibition.  Although  he  won  success  in 
this  field,  he  came  to  recognize  the  possible  presence  of 

172 


one  almost  insurmountable  difficulty — deceit  practiced  by 
the  patient.  This  fact  was  brought  home  through  a  keen 
disappointment.  A  brilliant  and  charming  young  short- 
story  writer,  whose  tales  Miinsterberg  himself  read  with 
much  pleasure,  could  not  write  without  the  inspiration  of 
whiskey,  and  had  become  a  desperate  drinker.  His 
parents  came  to  Boston  to  have  their  son  treated  at  the 
Harvard  Laboratory  and  kept  him  closely  guarded  at  the 
hotel  and  on  the  way  to  the  psychologist's  room.  The 
young  man,  a  former  student  of  Miinsterberg,  was  little 
more  than  a  boy  and  won  the  heart  of  his  new  physician, 
who  called  him  by  his  first  name.  The  youth  was  pledged, 
not  to  stop  drinking,  but  to  confess  whenever  he  touched 
whiskey.  To  Miinsterberg  *s  surprise  the  patient,  after  the 
first  day  of  the  treatment,  which  had  so  far  consisted  only 
of  a  tentative  suggestion,  assured  his  physician  that  he  had 
awakened  that  morning  with  a  sense  that  he  should  never 
touch  whiskey  again.  This  assurance  was  repeated.  The 
next  four  days  this  continued  until  before  the  fifth  day 
Miinsterberg  discovered  that  the  young  man  had  on  his 
arrival  at  the  hotel  bribed  a  laundress  to  bring  him  a  pint 
of  whiskey  every  day,  which  he  drank  in  the  night.  Then, 
of  course,  Miinsterberg  declined  to  continue  the  treatment. 
The  young  man  has  since  led  a  notorious  life  and  of  his 
authorship  little  more  has  been  heard. 

An  extraordinary  case  happened  in  1908  which  was  of 
the  greatest  possible  importance  to  the  community.  Two 
mysterious  train  wrecks  had  occurred  in  Michigan  on  the 
Grand  Trunk  Railroad,  evidently  due  to  the  turning  of  a 
switch  by  some  unknown  hand.  On  the  8th  of  January, 
1908,  Miinsterberg  received  a  letter  from  a  woman,  ap- 
parently fairly  well  educated,  in  Michigan,  near  the  scene 
of  the  railroad  wrecks.  The  letter  began:  **Your  article 
in  Jan.  McClure's  Magazine  on  *  Hypnotism  and  Crime' 
was  read  with  interest  by  me,  but  failed  to  satisfy  me  along 

173 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


one  line  of  your  argument,  wherein  you  state  that  hypnotic 
power  cannot  be  exerted  in  a  manner  which  seems  wrong- 
ful, by  a  distant  hypnotizer.  Recent  occurrences  at  this 
and  other  places  cause  me  to  differ  from  you  on  that 
point/'  Then  she  went  on  to  tell  how  two  railroad 
wrecks  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Railroad  had  followed  severe 
paroxysms  of  grief  she  had  had  over  wrongs  done  to  her 
and  her  family  by  the  railroad  company;  how  dreams 
had  foretold  the  calamities  and  how  her  own  intense 
thought  of  her  wrongs  was  sure  to  be  followed  by  some 
disaster. 

Miinsterberg  felt  immediately  that  this  was  a  case  that 
not  only  promised  unusual  material  for  scientific  investi- 
gation, but  which  he  was  in  duty  bound  to  examine  further 
in  order  to  protect  the  community.  He  immediately 
wrote  to  officials  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  who  were 
grateful  for  his  information  and  interest  in  the  case  and 
asked  him  to  investigate  it  further.  To  the  woman  he 
replied  thus: 

Cambsidqe,  Mass.  January  17,  1908. 

My  dear  Mrs.  R 


I  was  very  much  interested  indeed  in  receiving  your  letter  of 
January  eighth.  I  should  have  replied  before  this  if  I  had  not 
been  ill  with  the  grippe.  Your  statements  are  very  suggestive 
and  my  psychological  interest  in  your  case  leads  me  to  beg  you 
for  further  details.  Of  course,  there  are  many  mysterious  con- 
nections in  the  world  and  science  is  only  at  the  beginning  of  the 
discovery  of  them.  The  more  it  is  necessary  that  we  gather 
all  possible  details  in  every  important  case. 

Now,  I  understand  that  you  beUeve  yourself  that  the  last  rail- 
road wreck,  which  occurred  through  the  opening  of  a  switch  by 
an  unknown  hand,  was  really  the  result  of  your  justified  excite- 
ment and  anger,  as  the  Company  had  ignored  your  requests  for 
justice.  Now  I  should  like  to  know  more  in  detail  how  you  would 
be  able  to  prove  to  science  this  connection.  Had  you,  for  in- 
stance, a  clear  visual  image  of  the  coming  wreck  a  short  time 
before  the  collision  occurred  ?    Or  did  you  dream  in  your  imagina. 

174 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 


tion  of  yourself  as  opening  the  switches?  Or  did  you  see  any 
one  else  opening  them?  Do  you  remember  where  you  were  when 
the  collision  occurred?  And  how  long  before  you  had  been  in 
the  neighborhood  of  that  switch?  It,  of  course,  would  not  have 
been  impossible  that  the  influence  of  your  justified  excitement 
made  not  only  your  mind  but  also  your  hand,  without  your  knowl- 
edge, and  of  course  without  your  responsibility,  a  passive  instru- 
ment of  the  punishment  of  the  Company.  I  wish  very  much  that 
you  would  tell  me  every  little  thing  about  it,  as  such  mysterious 
connections  and  evil  influences  are  often  best  understood  when 
all  the  Uttle  particulars  are  brought  to  light.  I  shall  be  very 
much  interested  to  hear  all  the  details  from  you  which  refer  to 
your  mysterious  relation  to  those  last  two  wrecks.  I  shall  then 
write  to  you  my  opinion.  As  a  matter  of  course,  this  letter  is 
only  for  your  private  use,  and  I  trust  that  you  do  not  bring  any- 
thing into  the  newspapers,  as  publicity  is  the  very  worst  thing 
for  such  inquiries. 

With  many  thanks. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 
Hugo  Mijnsterberg. 

The  correspondence  continued  and  all  doubt  was  re- 
moved that  the  woman  in  a  morbid  condition  had  turned 
the  switch,  although,  when  the  deed  was  done,  she  had 
no  recollection  of  herself  as  agent.  This  discovery  made 
a  strong  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  public.  That 
even  such  an  abnormal  personality  as  this  dangerous  woman 
may  be  influenced  by  the  subtle  methods  of  the  patient  and 
discriminating  psychologist  appears  in  a  letter  she  wrote 

a  year  later: 

12'27'08 

Mb.  Hugo  MtSrysTERBBRG, 

Professor  of  Psychology  at  Harvard  College. 

Dear  Sir: 

When  your  favor  of  the  19th  reached  me,  my  first  thought 
was,  did  I  make  him  write  me,  or,  did  he  make  me  review  the 
happenings  of  a  year  ago,  which  also  included  your  correspon- 
dence concerning  it  all  as  I  recalled  the  whole  scene  a  few 
evenings  before  as  I  stood  looking  out  into  a  foggy  close  of  a 
dreary  day,  at  a  passing  train,  but,  though  the  sense  of  in- 

175 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 


jury,  at  the  hands  of  the  station  agent,  and  railroad  officials,  is 
as  strong  as  ever,  the  absence  of  the  bitter,  revengeful  feeling 
before  felt,  surprised  me.    Have  you  helped  me  to  overcome  iti 

Indeed,  as  Miinsterberg  wrote  to  an  official  in  the  Grand 
Trunk  Railway's  legal  department: 

I  am  afraid  that  if  Mrs. is  approached  directly,  either  by 

the  court  or  by  a  lunacy  commission,  the  mental  traces  of  the 
true  facts  will  be  lost  and  you  would  probably  be  unable  to  de- 
liver her  to  a  place  of  safety.  Detectives  might,  of  course,  put 
an  end  to  further  crime  by  watching  her,  but  they  would  be  unable 
to  clear  up  the  past.  The  only  scientific  way  to  bring  out  the 
whole  truth  .  .  . 

And  the  scientific  way  was  justified  by  its  results. 

The  attitude  of  Miinsterberg,  the  psychotherapist  and 
psychologist,  toward  the  so-called  ** mystical''  phenomena 
and  activities  that  absorb  the  attention  of  spiritualists  has 
already  been  presented  in  a  previous  chapter.  His  article 
** Communication  with  the  Dead"  had  been  a  popular 
statement  of  his  attitude,  and  it  was  generally  known  that 
he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  mediums  and  the  like. 
It  was  at  the  close  of  the  year  1909  that  the  coming  of 
the  famous  Italian  medium,  Mme.  Eusapia  Palladino,  was 
heralded  in  America.  She  it  was  who  had  astounded  and 
completely  mystified  scientists,  among  them  Lombroso, 
the  renowned  Italian  criminologist.  Her  manager  in 
America,  Hereward  Carrington,  had  originally  traveled  to 
Naples  as  a  skeptic — it  was  said,  in  order  to  expose  her 
— and  had  become  a  firm  believer  in  her  mysterious  powers. 
This  Mr.  Carrington  wrote  to  Miinsterberg,  and  asked  him 
if  he  would  consent  to  investigate  Mmer.  Palladino 's 
mediumship,  in  cooperation  with  professors  from  Columbia, 
Johns  Hopkins,  Princeton,  and  other  universities. 

The  names  of  the  scientists  invited  to  attend  the  extraor- 
dinary   seance    planned    by    Mr.    Carrington    were    im- 

176 


mediately  blazoned  abroad  by  the  press,  to  the  disgust  of 
Miinsterberg  and  others  among  the  possible  participants. 
It  might  have  been  expected  that  Miinsterberg  would 
refuse  point-blank  to  be  involved  in  this  occult  program; 
yet  it  seemed  to  him  wiser  not  to  flee  the  spirit  world 
always,  but  to  make  up  his  mind  to  face  it  for  once.  His 
motives  for  this  decision  appear  in  a  letter  tjo  Dr.  Dana, 
the  psychiatrist,  who  refused  absolutely  to  take  part  in 
the  so-called  ** investigation." 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts 

November  19,  1909. 

My  dear  Dr.  Dana  : 

I  am  very  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  your  very  kind 
letter  concerning  the  Palladino  humbug.  ...  Of  course  I 
also  entirely  agree  with  your  views  that  the  conditions  planned 
for  those  seances  are  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  a  really  scientific 
investigation. 

Yet  after  some  hesitation  I  believe  that  I  shall  have  to  come 
to  a  different  conclusion  from  these  premises.  My  natural  in- 
stinct, of  course,  would  be  not  to  touch  that  whole  affair.  But 
this  has  been  my  attitude  anyhow  all  my  life  long.  I  have 
steadily  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  Mrs.  Piper  and  with 
all  the  other  mediums  whom  for  years  I  have  been  urged  to  ex- 
amine. I  felt  that  all  those  phenomena  were  presented  in  a 
form  in  which  a  real,  scientific  study  was  improbable.  But  the 
result  has  been  an  increasing  sharpness  of  attack  against  me. 
My  friend  and  colleague,  William  James,  only  a  few  weeks  ago 
declared  in  a  public  club  meeting,  as  the  newspapers  reported, 
that  my  standpoint  is  that  of  shallow  dogmatism,  which,  as  he 
said,  is  in  no  way  more  scientific  than  that  of  mystical  supersti- 
tion. This  is  exactly  the  kind  of  talk  which  I  have  now  heard 
for  years  and  which  in  the  eyes  of  wide  circles  makes  me  unfit  to 
fight  at  all  the  humbug  which  is  going  on  all  around  us,  and 
here  in  Boston  more  than  at  other  places. 

I  was  feeling  tired  of  this  kind  of  attack  when  Mr.  Carring- 
ton^s  invitation  came,  and  therefore  declared  that  this  time  I 
should  do  what  they  wanted  me  to  do.  There  has  never  been  a 
moment  when  I  doubted  that  the  whole  thing  is  trickery  and  I 
felt  sure  from  tije  start  that  the  thing  would  go  on  under  condi- 

177 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

tions  which  have  nothing  to  do  with  a  scientific  investigation.  The 
development  as  to  the  conditions — not  as  to  the  publicity  which 
I  did  not  foresee — corresponds  therefore  exactly  to  my  antici- 
pations. It  is  just  for  that  reason  that  I  shall  go  on.  I  shall 
do  what  they  want  of  me,  shall  submit  to  their  humbug  and  shall 
then  at  least  be  justified  in  future  in  telling  them  that  I  have  now 
yielded  to  their  wishes  and  entered  into  their  so-called  best  case 
and  yet  that  I  found  it  humbug  from  the  start  to  the  finish  and 
therefore  shall  never  in  my  life  touch  these  matters  again.  If  I 
decline  to  take  part  now,  I  should  only  have  to  hear  the  old  story 
and  am  unable  to  stand  out  against  the  illusions  which,  of  course, 
will  very  soon  creep  up  in  the  newspapers  and  magazines  of  the 
country. 

Of  course  I  should  not  wonder  if  that  spiritualistic  clique 
should  find  a  pretext  to  exclude  me  after  all  from  the  seances,  as 
they  evidently  distrust  me  more  than  any  one.  They  have  al- 
ready started  the  neat  legend  that  I  was  not  invited  but  that  it 
was  my  wish  to  take  part  and  that  they  are  ready  to  yield  to  it. 
As  a  matter  of  course  I  yielded  to  their  urgent  request  and  even 
those  newspaper  interviews  .  .  .  saying  that  I  am  delighted 
with  the  prospect  of  having  a  chance  to  examine  Palladino  are 

pure  invention. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 
Hugo  MiJNSTERBEHG 

The  sitting  with  the  scientists  was  postponed  till  Feb- 
ruary; Miinsterberg  foresaw  that,  in  the  meantime,  the 
publicity  of  the  scholars'  names,  including  his  own,  would 
continue,  apparently  having  the  effect  of  an  advertisement 
for  the  medium.  To  this  he  objected,  and  declined  to 
participate  at  all  unless  he  were  given  opportunity  to  take 
part  in  a  regular,  ordinary  seance  in  December.  It  was 
finally  arranged  that  Miinsterberg  was  to  join  the  party 
of  a  Bostonian,  with  whom  he  was  already  well  acquainted, 
at  the  first  seance,  after  which  he  would  decide  whether  or 
not  he  desired  to  **sit''  again.  His  condition  for  taking 
part  was  that  he  should  sit  at  the  medium's  side,  holding 
her  hand;  he  also  made  it  clearly  understood  that  he 

178 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 

should  be  free  to  give  the  result  of  his  investigation  to 
the  public. 

Miinsterberg  was  well  aware  that  he  lacked  the  desir- 
able equipment  with  which  to  meet  the  mystery,  for  no 
one  is  so  habitually  trustful  of  his  collaborators  as  the 
scientist.   As  he  said  later  in  his  account  of  his  experience : 

The  lawyer  is  on  the  lookout,  the  physician  has  to  examine 
whether  the  hysteric  patient  is  telling  him  the  truth,  the 
business  man  hardly  expects  always  to  hear  the  whole  truth,  the 
politician  is  skeptical,  the  journalist  does  not  believe  anything; 
but  the  scientist  lives  in  the  certainty  that  every  one  who  enters 
the  temple  of  science  considers  truth  the  highest  godhead.  And 
now  he,  with  his  bland  naivete  and  his  training  in  blind  con- 
fidence, is  again  and  again  called  to  make  inquiries  which  would 
demand  a  detective  and  a  prestidigitator. 

The  party  that  attended  the  seance  was  very  congenial 
and,  as  it  were,  '* worked  together.'* 

It  was  in  the  Lincoln  Square  Arcade,  in  an  atmosphere 
of  occultism,  that  Eusapia  Palladino  held  her  court.  Miin- 
sterberg did  not  find  the  Italian  woman  of  peasant  origin 
nearly  so  disagreeable  as  he  had  been  warned;  he  went 
so  far  as  to  concede  her  a  certain  charm  and  humor.  In 
the  room  where  the  seance  was  held,  there  was  a  partition 
with  a  little  board  cabinet  built  into  it.  In  front  of 
the  cabinet  hung  two  black  curtains,  and  behind  those 
stood  a  light  little  table  holding  a  guitar  and  other  musical 
instruments.  The  chair  of  the  medium  was  about  a  foot 
from  the  curtains  and  in  front  of  her  stood  a  light,  roughly 
made  table.  Electric  burglar  alarms  were  attached  to 
the  windows  to  remove  all  suspicion  of  help  entering  from 
outside.  Mier  the  party  had  sat  three  minutes,  the  table 
began  to  lift  its  legs  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other, 
and  to  fall  back  suddenly  after  a  few  seconds;  then  the 
whole  table  was  raised  into  the  air,  while  Mme.  Palladino 's 

179 


J 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

hands  were  removed  from  it  and  the  hands  of  the  others 
touched  it  lightly.    Strong  rappings  on  the  table  gave 
commands  to  the  sitters  to  fulfill  her  conditions,  such  as 
the  holding  of  each  other's  hands  in  the  chain;  hiccoughs 
indicated  the  deeper  trance  of  the  medium.     The  room 
was  darkened  for  the  more  favorable  manifestations  of 
the    spirit   **John/'    as   the    occult    power    was    called. 
**John''  produced  strong  breezes  from  the  cabinet,  the 
curtain  was  blown  on  the  table.    After  four  raps  on  the 
table,  as  a  signal  that  the  sitters  should  talk  more,  sud- 
denly the  little  table  in  the  cabinet  crept  out  and  tones 
rose  from  the  guitar.    While   Mme.  Palladino's  hands, 
knees,  and  feet  were  held  by  members  of  the  party— her 
feet  in  the  form  of  having  her  feet  rest  on  one  foot  of  each 
of  her  two  neighbors— these  neighbors  were  touched  on 
the  arm  and  the  back  and  had  their  sleeves  pulled  by 
the  spirit  * '  John. ' '    Miinsterberg  stood  by  the  curtain  and 
felt  it  bulge,  as  if  a  balloon  were  pressing  against  it. 
Uncanny  though  the  performances  of  this  spirit  were,  it 
was  noteworthy  that  they  never  occurred  more  than  three 
feet  away  from  the  medium. 

It  was  at  the  second  and  last  seance  which  Miinsterberg 
attended  that  the  spirit  * '  John ' '  reached  a  crisis.  Miinster- 
berg was  sitting  on  the  medium's  left,  another  well 
known  scientist  on  her  right ;  her  left  hand  and  left  foot 
were  in  contact  with  Munsterberg's  hand  and  foot,  her 
right  hand  and  right  foot  in  contact  with  hand  and  foot  of 
her  other  neighbor.  Now  Mr.  Carrington  begged  ''John'' 
to  come  and  touch  Miinsterberg 's  arm  and  lift  the  table 
in  the  cabinet.  The  spirit  obeyed  and  indeed  touched 
Miinsterberg  on  the  hip,  then  on  the  arm,  and  pulled  his 
sleeve  so  that  he  seemed  to  feel  thumb  and  fingers.  He 
was  holding  the  medium's  hand,  he  felt  her  foot  pressing 
upon  his ;  the  table  in  the  cabinet  was  about  to  lift  when 
all  at  once  a  wild,  yelling  scream  pierced  the  air.    In  the 

180 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 


cabinet  a  man  lay  on  the  floor  who  had  seized  Mme.  Pal- 
ladino's  foot  by  the  heel,  in  the  act  of  its  fishing  for 
the  table  about  to  be  raised,  and  the  spirit  ''John"  was 
defeated.  It  was  Edgar  Scott,  of  Philadelphia,  who  at 
the  time  did  not  wish  to  have  his  name  made  known,  who 
had  the  dexterity  to  catch  the  culprit  foot.  On  Miinster- 
berg's  suggestion  that  there  might  be  wires  connected 
with  her  body,  it  was  planned  that  Mr.  Scott  should  wriggle 
his  way  like  a  snail  into  it  and  fish  about  there  during  the 
performance.  To  prevent  the  medium  from  detecting  this 
maneuver,  some  one  had  dashed  into  the  cabinet  and  out 
again,  thereby  distracting  her,  as  Miinsterberg  had  planned. 
Mr.  Scott,  at  the  given  moment,  had  found  not  wires,  but 
a  live  foot.  His  impressions  of  that  critical  moment  Miin- 
sterberg gave  in  the  following  letter  to  a  participant  in 

the  seances : 

Cambbidoe,  Massachusetts 

January  19,  1910. 

My  dear  Mr.  Dorr.: 

In  accordance  with  your  request  I  state  here  in  writing 
what  I  at  once  told  you  orally  after  our  seance  with  Madame 
Palladino  on  December  18th,  the  second  in  which  I  took  part. 
I  understand  that  you  are  interested  only  in  a  statement  concern- 
ing those  observations  which  have  reference  to  Madame  Palladino's 
situation  at  the  time  when  her  foot  was  grasped  in  the  cabinet. 

At  the  moment  when  her  screaming  indicated  that  she  was 
grasped,  I  felt  sure  that  I  held  her  left  hand  with  my  right  hand 
and  that  I  felt  her  left  shoe  on  my  right  foot.  Moreover  I  felt 
sure  that  no  change  in  the  pressure  of  the  shoe  had  occurred  dur- 
ing the  preceding  minutes.  I  believed  myself  to  feel  both  the  heel 
and  the  sole  of  her  left  shoe  while  it  was  her  left  foot  which 
reached  out  for  the  table  in  the  cabinet.  Inasmuch  as  the  gentle- 
man on  her  right  side  also  felt  her  whole  foot  on  his  foot,  I  con- 
sider it  impossible  that  a  substitution  had  set  in  by  which  her 
right  foot  gave  to  both  her  neighbors  the  feeling  of  being  touched 
by  her  shoe.  As  throughout  that  part  of  the  seance  I  gave  my 
fullest  attention  to  my  foot  sensations,  I  must  believe  that  her 
right  foot  remained  on  the  foot  of  her  right  neighbor  and  that 
her  left  shoe  remained  on  my  foot. 

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HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

The  skill  with  which  she  succeeded  in  removing  her  foot  from 
the  shoe  without  giving  me  the  slightest  suspicion  appears  to  me 
marvelous.  By  my  laboratory  work  I  am  accustomed  to  care- 
ful observation  of  impressions.  I  gave  my  full  attention  to  the 
tactual  sensations  which  her  shoe  produced  on  my  foot  and  yet 
I  did  not  notice  anything  of  the  change  until  the  scream  occurred. 
On  the  other  hand  I  confess  that  the  surprise  of  the  scream  with- 
drew my  attention  for  a  few  seconds  so  fully  from  the  tactual 
sensations  that  later  I  was  unable  to  remember  what  happened 
immediately  after  the  surprise.  Certainly  when  I  turned  my  at- 
tention to  my  foot  again,  her  foot  was  in  the  shoe  once  more. 
But  it  may  be  that  a  minute  had  elapsed  since  thte  excitement 
which  the  scream  produced. 

Let  me  add  that  the  gentleman  who  caught  Madame  Palladino's 
foot  in  the  cabinet  told  me  a  few  minutes  afterwards  that  he  had 
grasped  it  near  the  heel  and  that  the  foot  was  without  a  shoe. 
The  tactual  sensations  which  I  perceived  at  the  arm  were  also 
such  as  an  unshod  foot  might  easily  produce  with  the  toes,  while 

a  shoe  could  not  have  given  them. 

Very  truly  yours, 
Hugo  Miinsterberg 

For  Miinsterberg  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt,  that, 
as  he  had  suspected  from  the  start,  all  Pelladino's  wonders 
were  done  by  trickery,  marvelous  though  they  were  as 
feats  of  dexterous  juggling  that  required  life-long  prac- 
tice. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  humbug  though  her 
spiritual  power  was,  that  Miinsterberg  considered  Eusapia 
Palladino  a  calculating  deceiver.  He  attributed  her  alert- 
ness and  cunning  during  her  trance  state  and  her  apparent 
unconsciousness  of  what  she  had  done  after  she  was  back 
in  a  normal  condition,  to  a  case  of  hysteric  double  or 
'* split-off  personality'*  resulting  from  abnormal  inhibi- 
tions of  the  brain. 

In  an  article  in  the  Metropolitan  Magazine  Miinsterberg 
gave  his  views  on  the  sensational  medium  as  well  as  an 
account  of  his  experience  with  her.    Quotations  from  this 

182 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 

article,  comments  upon  it,  and  varied  journalistic  em- 
broideries  upon  the  theme  of  Miinsterberg 's  episode  with 
Palladino  flooded  the  press.  That  the  exposure  of  the 
medium  should  gain  such  wide  publicity  was  what  Miinster- 
berg desired— not  indeed,  from  any  resentment  against  the 
ignorant  Italian  peasant  woman,  still  less  against  her 
manager  who  was  a  devoted  believer  in  her  powers,  but 
because  of  the  danger  to  sound  reasoning  and  to  the 
recognition  of  scientific  truth  that  lay  in  the  belief  in 
table-lifting  and  sleeve^pulling  spirits.  If  these  phenom- 
ena had  been  genuine,  they  would  have  shattered  the 
whole  laborious  edifice  of  science  to  bits— for  to  find  one 
loophole  in  the  structure  of  cause  and  effect  was  to  deny 
its  necessity,  hence  its  existence;  and  it  was  consolation 
indeed  to  find  that,  as  far  as  Eusapia  and  the  spirit  **  John.'* 
were  concerned,  the  venerable  pile  was  still  built  on  rock. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  assert  that 
Miinsterberg  was  not  a  materialist,  not  even  a  pragmatist 
like  his  friend  William  James,  but  a  pure  idealist.  As 
such  it  was  that  he  demanded  the  construction  of  an 
orderly  world  of  cause  and  effect  to  fulfill  the  ideal  will 
to  seek  truth ;  as  idealist  he  could  tolerate  no  trifling  with 
this  constructed  world  of  law  and  order.  In  his  own  words : 
'*The  principle  of  ultimate  truth  must  be  sought  in  our 
own  logic  and  reason,  and  no  philosophy  can  be  found  by 
watching  the  psychic  of  the  Lincoln  Square  Arcade.*' 

Among  the  vapors  of  occult  spiritualism  and  in  the 
gloomy  atmosphere  of  the  mental  diseases  that  he  studied 
and  cured,  Miinsterberg  did  not  lose  access  to  the  sunny 
fields  of  art.  He  could  strip  off  the  scientific  view  of  the 
world  and  enter  with  naive,  though  discriminating,  en- 
thusiasm into  the  enjoyment  of  a  picture,  a  symphony,  or 
a  play.  It  happened  curiously,  however,  that  one  of  the 
essays  he  had  given  the  world  as  a  scientist  suggested  a 
play  to  a  popular  playwright.    Charles  Klein  read  the 

183 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

book  On  the  Witness  Stand  and  was  particularly  impressed 
with  the  chapter  ** Untrue  Confessions''  in  which  the  story 
was  told  of  the  young  man  who  by  the  ** third  degree'* 
method  was  forced  to  confess  a  murder,  though  he  was 
innocent.  Upon  this  basis  Mr.  Klein  built  his  play  The 
Third  Degree  in  which  the  brutal  extortion  of  a  confession 
from  an  innocent  man  is  made  into  a  dramatic  scene.  Mr. 
Klein  asked  Miinsterberg's  advice  during  his  work  on  the 
play,  and  this  counsel  both  as  psychologist  and  as  lover  of 
the  drama  he  delighted  in  giving. 

**The  play  is  evidently  whetting  the  public  mind  in  a 
subject  far  above  the  reach  of  the  average  intelligence," 
the  playwright  wrote  to  the  psychologist  ** — ^the  play  edu- 
cates them  up  to  the  subject  of  the  book  and  in  that  way 
it  may  benefit."  In  a  postscript  Mr.  Klein  was  able 
to  add:  "The  play  is  doing  an  enormouis  business." 
Indeed,  it  began  its  career  with  a  run  of  seven  months 
at  the  Hudson  Theater  in  New  York.  Even  in  the  days 
of  the  present  writing.  The  Third  Degree  is  being  shown 
as  a  photoplay  and  is  thus  reaching  a  still  larger  public. 
And  numberless  minds  are  reflecting  on  the  words  of  the 
devoted  young  wife  of  the  innocent  victim  in  the  play,  who 
tries  untiringly  to  win  for  him  the  defense  of  a  noted  lawyer 
in  whom  she  has  confidence,  but  who  declares  that  he 
does  not  take  criminal  cases:  **I  don't  want  you  to 
defend  him  because  he  is  a  criminal :  I  want  you  to  defend 
him  because  he  is  not  a  criminal." 

In  April,  1909,  Miinsterberg  combined  his  attendance 
at  the  psychological  congress  in  Baltimore  with  a  short 
visit  to  Washington.  This  was  in  the  time  of  the  Taft 
administration  and  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife  enjoyed  an 
intimate  luncheon  at  the  White  House.  There  were 
problems  of  international,  though  non-political,  interest 
that  Miinsterberg  was  eager  to  lay  before  the  President, 
from  whom  he  received  warm  response. 

184 


^1 


TEMPORAL  CURRENTS 

Indeed,  a  project  that  concerned  the  status  of  American 
educational  and  scholarly  life  and  its  influence  abroad 
was  underfoot,  a  project  that  could  be  much  benefited 
by  those  leaders  who  not  only  desired  the  advancement 
and  spread  of  knowledge,  regardless  of  national  boundaries, 
but  the  beneficent  cultural  relations  of  countries  for  their 
own  sake  and  the  sake  of  the  good  fruits  they  bring.  Men- 
tion has  been  made  before  of  Miinsterberg 's  talks,  when 
abroad,  with  Dr.  Althoff  and  Friedrich  Schmidt  about  the 
founding  of  an  America-Institute  in  Berlin.  This  plan  was 
now  being  carried  out.  Early  in  the  year  1910  Miinsterberg 
was  asked  by  cable  to  make  a  budget  for  the  needs  of  such 
an  institute,  which  he  did  with  devoted  diligence  and  hope- 
ful enthusiasm.  His  optimism  was  in  every  way  justified. 
As  to  the  necessary  material  side  of  the  enterprise— a  short 
stay  of  Miinsterberg 's  in  New  York  in  May,  1910,  during 
which  he  called  on  James  Speyer  and  Jacob  Schiff,  re- 
sulted in  generous  support  from  these  two  benefactors. 

That  Miinsterberg  could  create  this  designed  institute 
with  the  ocean  between  himself  and  the  city  in  which  it 
was  to  stand  was,  of  course,  impossible.  But  circumstances 
conspired  in  a  felicitous  way  to  further  the  plan.  Har- 
vard appointed  Miinsterberg  as  Exchange  Professor  at 
Berlin  University  for  1910-11.  It  was  customary  for  the 
Harvard  Exchange  Professor  to  lecture  at  Berlin  for 
one  semester  or  academic  half-year  only ;  but  at  the  request 
of  the  German  Government,  Miinsterberg 's  term  was  ex- 
tended to  cover  the  whole  academic  year,  so  that  during 
that  time  he  might  organize  the  new  America-Institute 
and,  as  it  were,  put  it  into  running  order  before  he  re- 
turned to  Harvard. 

With  full  enthusiasm  for  the  work  before  him,  with 
the  blessing  of  his  friends,  of  Harvard,  and  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  Miinsterberg  closed  his  duties 
at  Cambridge  and,  with  his  family,  sailed  on  July  3,  1910. 

185 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


President  Taft  wrote  to  him: 


Mt  dear  Mb.  Munsterberg: 


The  White  House 
Washington 
June  U,  1910, 


I  sincerely  hope  that  you  will  find  it  possible  to  bring  about 
the  relation  between  the  United  States  and  Germany  which  you 
have  made  your  ideal,  and  that  you  may  achieve  the  end  you  have 
in  view,  in  which  you  have  my  full  sympathy. 

With  very  warm  regard  and  respect,  believe  me, 

Sincerely  yours, 

Wm.  H.  Taft 

And  when  his  energetic  work  abroad  was  about  to  begin, 
Miinsterberg  received  a  letter  of  farewell  from  his  dear 
colleague  at  Harvard,  Josiah  Royce,  who  sent  him  hearty 
good  wishes  for  the  year  and  regrets  that  they  would  no 
longer  have  their  friendly  occasional  meetings  in  the  door- 
ways of  Emerson  Hall.  ' '  You  always  cheer  me, '  *  he  wrote, 
**and  I  shall  miss  you."  ^ 

1  For  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chap- 
ter see  Appendix,  pages  382-418. 


CHAPTER    XI 

AN  AOADEMIC  ENVOY 
(July,  IBlOSeptemher,  1911) 

In  July,  1910,  the  8.  S.  America  carried  the  Harvard 
Exchange  Professor  and  his  family  from  New  York  to 
Hamburg.  It  was  a  voyage  full  of  expectations,  of  high 
hopes.  The  America-Institute  was  to  be  called  into  exist- 
ence, and  Miinsterberg  saw  before  him  the  task  of  turning 
an  ideal  vision  into  a  real  and  preeminently  practical  in- 
stitution. He  not  only  faced  this  task  undaunted  by  the 
difficulties  that  awaited  him,  but  looked  forward  to  it 
with  enthusiasm. 

When  the  preliminary  problems  had  been  solved  at  Ber- 
lin, Miinsterberg  retired  to  Karlsbad,  where  he  gathered 
vigor  for  the  strenuous  winter  before  him,  not  only  by  tak- 
ing the  cure,  but  by  cutting  himself  off  from  social  inter- 
course, except  for  the  genial  companionship  of  a  former 
fellow  student  and  friend,  the  psychologist  Dessoir  and 
his  wife,  who  were  visiting  the  watering  place  at  the  same 
time.  When  his  cure  was  finished,  Miinsterberg  enjoyed 
a  fortnight  of  solitude  as  an  **  after-cure  *'  in  the  highlands 
of  Saxony,  and  at  the  beginning  of  September,  while  his 
family  was  still  idling  in  the  country,  he  plunged  into 
work  at  Berlin. 

Before  his  academic  tasks  began,  indeed,  even  before 
the  University  opened,  Miinsterberg  devoted  himself  to 
the  creation  of  the  America-Institute.  Since  this  work 
commanded  by  far  the  greatest  part  of  his  time  through- 
out the  year,  and  since  it  was  an  unusual  work  that  filled 
a  definite,  imperative,  yet  hitherto  unrecognized  demand, 

187 


HUGO  MXJNSTERBERG 

let    us  consider   the   rise   and   growth   of   the   America- 
Institute  from  the  earliest  beginning. 

The  character  and  object  of  this  Institute  can  be  pre- 
sented best  in  Miinsterberg^s  own  words.  The  following 
is  an  extract  from  a  letter  to  President  Pritchett  of  the 
Carnegie  Institute: 

My  visit  was  in  the  service  of  a  plan  which  I  think  I  men- 
tioned to  you  once  before  and  as  to  which  I  am  anxious  to  in- 
form  you  somewhat  in  detail.  I  refer  to  the  America-Institute 
which  the  German.  Government  is  to  found  in  Berlin.  The 
Government  has  asked  me  to  organize  it  during  the  next  year 
while  I  am  to  stay  in  Berlin  as  Harvard  exchange  professor  at 
the  University  of  Berlin.  The  idea  is  to  found  an  Institute  which 
can  become  a  clearing  house  for  all  the  cultural  rtlations  between 
Germany  and  the  United  States.  The  emphasis  will  lie  on  educa- 
tional and  scholarly  matters;  and,  in  a  secondary  way,  social, 
economic,  legal,  artistic,  and  Uterary  problems  will  be  involved. 
It  will  undertake  for  the  circulation  and  distribution  of  printed 
matter  what  the  Smithsonian  Institute  is  doing  on  this  side  by  its 
international  exchange.  It  will  serve  all  Americans  who  come 
to  Germany  for  serious  study,  not  only  students  but  every  one 
who  wants  to  make  use  of  the  resources  of  Germany,  and  cor- 
respondingly it  will  aid  Germans  who  want  to  make  studies  in 
America.  It  will  classify  the  American  students  for  the  German 
universities  and  will  fulfill  many  similar  functions.  In  a  time 
in  which  commerce  and  cultural  relations  take  more  and  more 
the  lead  in  the  international  connections  as  against  the  mere  polit- 
ical relations,  it  seems  necessary  indeed  to  organize  these  cultural 
relations  too  from  country  to  country,  and  I  think  the  Com- 
missioner of  Education  is  right  in  claiming  that  this  project 
introduces  a  new  period  of  internationalism. 

I  was  delighted  to  find  a  most  cordial  welcome  for  the  plans  in 
all  important  Washington  Departments,  and  not  the  least  with 
President  Taft.  Of  course  the  greatest  interest  came  from  the 
Smithsonian  Institute,  the  Congressional  Library,  and  the  Bureau 
of  Education,  but  Mr.  W .  saw  clearly  that  the  Carnegie  In- 
stitute may  profit  in  many  respects  from  this  Berlin  America-In- 
stituta  May  I  not  say  that  this  is  still  more  true  for  the  Car- 
negie Foundation.  I  expect,  for  instance,  that  functions  like 
those  of  the  teachers*  exchange  will  very  soon  silently  go  over 

188 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 


into  the  care  of  the  America-Institute  on  the  German  side.  I 
imagine  that  as  soon  as  the  Institute  is  in  working  order,  its 
sphere  will  be  steadily  enlarged  and  there  will  be  plenty  of  op- 
portunities to  be  serviceable  to  your  purposes.  On  the  other 
hand  I  know  how  often  we  shall  have  to  ask  your  help  for  the 
Institute  which  anyhow  is  not  meant  to  serve  one  country  only  but 
which  in  every  pulse  beat  will  be  devoted  to  both  countries 
alike.  ... 

The  claim  that  this  eminently  practical  and  useful 
institution  was  introducing  a  new  period  of  international- 
ism throws  upon  it  the  light  of  a  broader  and  far-sighted 
point  of  view.  It  was  Miinsterberg's  conviction  that 
harmony  among  nations  must  be  brought  about  not  by 
mere  talk  about  peace  and  the  horrors  of  war,  which 
are  the  negative  means,  but  rather  by  strengthening  of 
cultural  ties,  by  uniting  in  common  interests  and  for 
common  purposes,  which  are  the  positive  forces  that  hold 
peoples  as  well  as  men  together.  The  former  course 
might  be  compared  to  the  antiseptic  method  of  prevent- 
ing disease  by  killing  harmful  germs;  and  the  latter 
course  to  the  aseptic  method,  which  makes  the  growth 
of  such  germs  impossible. 

This  idea  appears  also  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Carnegie: 

.  .  .  Moreover  while  this  Institute  will  be  built  in  Berlin  un- 
der the  supervision  of  the  German  Government,  it  can  hardly 
be  called  simply  a  German  cause.  It  is  an  international  one  in 
the  noblest  sense  of  the  word.  Yes,  I  may  say  that  the  first  idea 
of  it  came  to  me  in  a  conversation  which  I  had  with  the  American 
Ambassador,  my  friend  Mr.  Hill,  who  pointed  out  how  desirable 
it  would  be  for  America  if  Germany  had  a  distributing  bureau 
for  printed  matter  like  the  Smithsonian   Institute  .  .  . 

And  in  another  connection : 

.  .  .  The  America-Institute  in  Berlin  is  planned  as  a  great 
clearing  house  for  the  cultural,  non-political  interests  which 
Germany  shares  with  the  English-speaking  nations.    While  it 

189 


"i 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

is  at  first  to  be  confined  to  particular  relations  between  Germany 
and  the  United  States,  I  hope  that  it  will  soon  develop  into  a 
general  American-British  Institute. 

Later  Miinsterberg  wrote  from  Berlin  to  the  German 
Ambassador  at  Washington: 

.  .  .  Indeed  the  Institute  aims  toward  a  consideration  of  all 
international  relations,  and  I  am  already  at  work  trying  to  ex- 
tend our  influence  to  England.  You  will  remember,  from  your 
stay  in  London,  Professor  Breul  in  Cambridge.  Through  him 
I  am  trying  to  stimulate  similarly  minded  circles  in  England  .  . 
so  that  our  Institute  may  grow  into  an  Eingland-America-Institute 
and  finally  into  a  general  International  Institute. 

An  extract  from  the  letter  to  Professor  Breul  of  Cam- 
bridge, England,  may  as  well  be  quoted  directly : 

.  .  .  The  ideal  of  the  whole  new  movement  would  be  of  course 
to  have  a  complete  network  of  international  institutes,  in  which 
each  country  strengthens  systematically  its  cultural  ties  with  all 
the  leading  nations.  To  be  sure,  it  was  a  fortunate  choice  to  be- 
gin with  Germany  and  America,  because  just  here  there  is  no 
reason  for  any  suspicion  of  political  by-thoughts.  But  now  since 
a  start  has  been  made  and  the  principle  of  such  cultural  institutes 
has  been  acknowledged,  it  seems  to  us  artificial  not  to  go  forward. 

There  can  be  hardly  any  doubt  that  the  next  great  step  must 
be  the  development  of  this  Institute  for  cultural  foreign  relations 
in  the  direction  of  England.  Even  the  Americans  strongly  felt, 
when  we  discussed  the  plans  over  there,  that  it  would  strengthen 
this  whole  ideal  plan,  if  Germany's  relations  to  England  should  be 
organized  in  a  similar  way.  Much  of  the  work  which  we  plan 
will  be  of  service  to  England  anyhow.  But  this  strengthening  of 
the  German-English  ties  ought  not  to  remain  a  chance  by-product 
of  the  Institute.  There  is  no  need  of  my  telling  you  how  endlessly 
much  these  higher  relations  of  non-political  character  between 
Germany  and  England  might  still  be  improved.  No  one  has 
given  more  attention  to  this  whole  situation  than  you,  and  your 
words  of  approval  have  illumined  the  situation.  The  real 
postulate  of  the  day  would  be  the  establishment  of  a  great  insti- 
tution in  London  on  English  ground  in  cooperation  with  this 
Institute  in  Berlin,  which  at  that  moment  would  be  expanded  in- 

190 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 

to  an  England-America-Institute.  The  conviction  here  is  wide- 
spread that  no  plan  at  present  could  do  more  toward  the  establish- 
ment  of  cordial  relations  between  England  and  Germany  and  that 
such  an  organization  by  its  quiet,  steady,  systematic  work  m 
cultural  fields  would  do  more  than  any  sporadic  movements  to 
aboUsh  harmful  prejudices  and  to  harmonize  the  English  and 
German  nations.  I  think  no  one  would  be  better  prepared  than 
you  to  undertake  such  a  task  in  England.  .  .  . 

This  was  the  high  hope  for  the  future  at  a  time  when 
the  bitterness  that  it  held  in  store  could  not  be  foreseen. 
The  plans  for  this  Institute  had  been  under  way  for 
some  time,  but  had  been  delayed  by  the  death  of  Dr. 
Althoff,  a  dominant  figure  and  during  his  lifetime  the 
greatest  force  in  the  higher  educational  life  of  Germany, 
with  whom  for  years  Munsterberg  had  been  on  cordial 
terms,  and  who,  together  with  Dr.  Friedrich  Schmidt, 
was  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  the  project  of  founding 
the  America-Institute.    Finally,  in  1910,  the  time  was  ripe 
for  the  Institute  to  be  actually  called  into  being.    It  was 
to  be  an  institution  of  the  German  Government,  and  its 
headquarters  were  to  be  in  a  section  of  the  great  new 
University  library.    Through  the  orders  of  the  German 
Chancellor   and  of   the   *  *  Kultusminister, '  *   or   secretary 
for  educational  and  intellectual  affairs,  all  the  universities, 
schools  of  technology,  etc.  were  informed  in  detail  about 
the  America-Institute. 

The  financial  existence  of  the  institute  was  made  pos- 
sible by  the  gifts  of  James  Speyer  of  New  York  and  Mr. 
Koppel,  a  prominent  business  man  of  Berlin,  and  a  fund 
was  added  by  Jacob  Schiff  of  New  York  for  the  equip- 
ment and  maintenance  of  a  library  on  aU  topics  con- 
nected with  a  study  of  American  life. 

On  September  sixth,  Miinsterberg  began  his  task  in  the 
provisional  rooms  of  the  as  yet  embryonic  institute  with  a 
smaU  staff  of  secretaries,  among  them  his  own  secretary, 

191 


in 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

Miss  Zora  P.  Wilkins,  whom  he  considered  particularly 
fit  for  the  work  because  of  her  familiarity  with  the  special 
problems  of  the  Institute  and  who  had  therefore  been  trans- 
planted from  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  to  Berlin.  Later 
the  staff  was  increased  by  more  secretaries,  trained 
librarians,  and  by  an  assistant.  Not  until  December  first 
could  the  staff  move  into  its  real  abode,  an  adequately  and 
tastefully  equipped  suite  of  rooms  in  the  large  University 
library,  where  the  director  had  a  dignified  and  artistic 
oflBce  for  himself. 

But  before  the  outer  shell  of  this  complex  creation  was 
ready,  the  activities  of  the  Institute  were  manifold.  By 
November  18,  1910,  the  so-called  **  American  library  *'  of 
books  pertaining  to  the  study  of  America  had  already 
reached  a  good  size  and  included  the  library  of  5,000  vol- 
umes of  the  late  Professor  von  Halle,  the  best  German 
authority  on  American  economic  life,  which  contained  very 
valuable  material  and  was  bought  by  the  Institute.  Spe- 
cial emphasis,  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  library,  was  laid 
on  industrial,  political,  social,  and  educational  problems. 

The  enterprises  of  the  Institute  may  be  grouped  under 
the  following  headings:  first,  problems  of  the  exchange 
of  printed  matter  and  the  international  book  trade; 
second,  problems  of  educational  and  scholarly  intercourse ; 
third,  an  examination  of  the  activities  of  the  press  as 
affecting  international  relations;  fourth,  general  problems 
of  international  concern  outside  of  the  realm  of  commerce 
and  industry  or  politics. 

On  the  first  of  January  the  Institute  undertook  the 
complete  exchange  of  printed  matter,  pamphlets,  docu- 
ments, etc.,  with  the  Smithsonian  Institute  at  Washington, 
D.  C.  This  involved  the  handling  of  34,591  packages 
during  the  first  year,  and  greater  numbers  in  the  years 
that  followed.  From  the  Institute  the  publications  were 
distributed  to  their  proper  destinations:    libraries,  uni- 

192 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 

versities,  etc.  Further,  the  problems  of  international  copy- 
right were  examined  and  by  a  special  arrangement  with 
the  United  States  Copyright  Office  the  America-Institute 
was  made  the  central  office  where  German  authors  and 
publishers  were  helped  to  secure  copyrights  for  German 
books  in  the  United  States.  Over  2,500  German  books 
were  copyrighted  through  the  Institute.  A  work  of  dis- 
tinct importance  was  the  cooperation  of  the  Institute  with 
the  federation  of  German  booksellers  in  their  efforts  to 
extend  the  market  for  their  books  to  America.  The  sig- 
nificance of  this  can  be  appreciated  only  if  one  considers 
the  important  position  of  the  bookseller  in  Germany.  In 
the  United  States  there  are  only  a  very  few  booksellers 
on  a  large  scale  and  of  real  influence  on  the  book  world; 
in  Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  the  middleman  is  the 
real  distributing  power  and  consequently  the  one  to  ap- 
proach on  questions  of  international  trade  in  books.  Not 
only  the  distribution  of  books,  but  the  translation  of  those 
that  were  significant  for  international  understanding,  was 
furthered  by  the  Institute,  which  had  translations  made 
of  American  books  into  German  and  of  German  books 
into  English.  These  books  were  carefully  chosen,  not  only 
with  literary  judgment  but  with  exact  knowledge  of  con- 
ditions; for  statistical  investigations  were  made  in  the 
field  of  translations  from  the  German  into  English  and 
vice  versa.  The  Institute  also  examined  the  number  and 
choice  of  books  pertaining  to  America  extant  in  the  twenty- 
five  larger  libraries  of  Berlin. 

The  problems  of  exchange  in  the  field  of  education, 
particularly  of  university  education,  were  difficult  and 
urgent,  because  the  German  system  of  school  and  university 
life  and  requirements  was  radically  different  from  the 
English  and  American  plan,  and  there  was  no  absolute 
scale  by  which  to  measure  the  relative  standing  of  uni- 
versities    of     different     countries.    Nevertheless     great 

193 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERQ 


numbers  of  students  with  American  college  degrees  flocked 
to  German  universities,  eager  to  pass  the  Doctor  examina- 
tions there.  Accordingly  the  America-Institute  undertook 
to  examine  the  curricula  of  six  hundred  colleges  and 
universities  in  the  United  States,  also  to  study  the  pos- 
sibilities of  counting  the  years  of  study  at  an  American 
college  toward  a  German  doctor's  degree.  A  document 
treating  on  these  problems  was  written  for  and  distributed 
among  the  German  universities.  The  Institute  corre- 
sponded with  the  six  hundred  colleges,  requested  them 
for  their  publications — catalogues,  pamphlets,  etc. — and 
offered  its  services  in  the  interest  of  international  student 
problems.  At  the  same  time  written  inquiries  were  made 
of  all  Americans  who  were  studying  at  German  universities 
about  their  previous  preparations  and  their  present  studies, 
about  their  academic  wishes  and  disappointments,  and  their 
ideas  were  requested  in  regard  to  the  increase  of  student 
exchanges. 

The  school  teacher  was  not  neglected:  aid  was  given  to 
Germans  who  sought  teaching  positions  in  American  col- 
leges. But  more  important  still  than  aid  and  information 
given  to  individuals  were  the  Institute's  services  in  the 
interest  of  pure  scholarship — scholarship  that  cannot  re- 
main national,  but  needs  fructification  by  ideas  from  be- 
yond national  borders.  The  Institute  corresponded  with 
German  scholars  who  desired  information  about  American 
problems ;  it  communicated  with  various  organizations  with 
a  view  to  promoting  international  scholarship,  amon^ 
others,  on  the  American  side,  with  the  Institute  at  Phila- 
delphia conducted  by  Professor  Marion  Learned  who 
was  in  Berlin  at  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  America- 
Institute. 

The  America-Institute  did  not  strive  so  much  to  create 
new  demands  as  to  fulfill  demands  already  existing  which 
were  either  unrecognized  or  incapable  of  being  satisfied. 

194 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 


Remedies  were  not  offered  until  the  diseases  were  exactly 
known.  Therefore,  in  order  to  discover  the  existing  de- 
mands, the  Institute  sent  out  its  feelers  in  the  form  of 
letters  to  1,400  Americans  whose  names  were  in  Who's 
Who  who  had  studied  in  Germany,  asking  them  to  give 
suggestions  for  the  improvement  of  the  intellectual  rela- 
tions between  the  two  countries. 

Thus  the  America-Institute  sought  information  as  eagerly 
as  it  gave  it  out.  Yet  in  its  giving  it  was  tireless.  Of- 
ficials of  the  German  government  who  desired  not  only 
information  but  sympathetic  illumination  of  American 
problems  received  what  they  sought.  Germans  who 
planned  to  visit  the  United  States  with  special  interests 
were  given  introductions  to  experts  of  institutions  in  their 
particular  fields.  In  this  way  mistakes,  waste  of  time,  and 
disappointments  were  forestalled  and  that  wrong  impres- 
sion of  the  ** other"  country,  which  is  the  inevitable  result 
of  blunders,  was  avoided.  Lectures  on  American  problems 
were  arranged  for  the  purpose  of  rousing  interest  where  it 
lay  dormant,  encouraging  it  where  it  was  already  aroused, 
and  correcting  wrong  judgments  with  the  light  of  first- 
hand knowledge  and  sympathetic  understanding. 

The  abundance  of  seed  scattered  was  truly  justified 
by  the  harvest.  Miinsterberg,  from  September,  1910,  till 
August,  1911,  spent  every  week  day  at  the  Institute,  with 
interruptions  only  for  a  few  journeys. 

He  did  not  even  feel  free,  in  the  long  Easter  vacation 
of  the  University,  to  carry  out  his  heart's  desire  to  travel 
in  Italy,  which  he  had  never  seen,  although  the  use  of 
the  Villa  Palconiere  was  offered  to  him  and  his  family. 
In  order  to  have  perfect  freedom  in  developing  his  ideas, 
Miinsterberg  accepted  no  salary  for  his  position  as  Director 
of  the  America-Institute.  The  success  of  his  work  exacted 
new  labors:  aid  and  information  were  sought  by  scholars, 
students,  authors,  publishers;  ever  new  problems  arose 

195 


Hi 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

that  could  be  solved  only  with  the  special  knowledge  of 
the  America-Institute. 

When,  in  midsummer  of  1911,  Munsterberg  had  to  give 
up  his  post  as  Dire/^tor  of  the  American-Institute,  because 
of  his  return  to  Harvard,  there  was  no  one  to  take  his 
place.  It  was  decided  then,  that,  instead  of  appointing 
a  successor  to  JVIiinsterberg  as  director  who  had  complete 
authority  and  bore  all  the  responsibility,  this  authority  and 
responsibility  should  be  delegated  to  a  board  consisting  of 
two  oflScials  of  the  German  Government,  with  one  of  them, 
Dr.  Friedrich  Schmidt,  the  enthusiastic  promoter  of  the  In- 
stitute, as  its  official  curator;  the  rector  of  the  Univer- 
sity, who  corresponds  to  the  president  of  an  American 
university,  except  that  he  is  elected  annually  from  among 
the  professors;  the  dean  of  the  philosophical  faculty,  the 
professor  of  English,  and  the  two  exchange  professors. 
Under  the  direction  of  this  board.  Dr.  Drechsler,  the  young 
assistant  of  Miinsterberg  who  had  worked  with  him  faith- 
fully and  efficiently  and  understood  his  ideas,  was  given 
the  executive  management.  In  subsequent  years  the  In- 
stitute continued  to  grow  along  the  paths  laid  out  by 
Miinsterberg.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  the  increase  in 
the  exchange  of  printed  matter  with  the  Smithsonian 
Institute  as  shown  by  the  following  table : 


From    America 

From  Germany  | 

1911 
1912 
1913 

20,188  packages 

21,672 

28,729 

376  boxes 
334       " 
417       " 

11,694  packages 

13,882 

12,619 

179  boxes 

238  " 

239  " 

Total 

70,589   packages 

1,127    boxes 

38,195' packages 

656  boxes 

In  1912,  1,000  books  were  copyrighted  through  the  In- 
stitute and  in  1913,  974.     Moreover  the  Institute  was  active 

196 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 

in  opposing  the  American  tariff  of  15  per  cent,  on  foreign 
books,  so  dangerous  to  American  scholarship  and  edu- 
cation. The  library  in  the  Institute  grew  until,  in  the 
spring  of  1914,  it  had  reached  the  number  of  13,000 
volumes.  When  visitors,  distinguished  in  the  world  of 
education  or  letters,  came  to  Berlin,  the  America-Institute 
opened  its  doors  to  welcome  them.  Among  these  were 
Professor  George  P.  Baker  who  came  to  Berlin  to  study 
the  modern  theaters  there,  and  President  Abbott  Lawrence 
Lowell  of  Harvard,  who  was  given  a  most  cordial  recep- 
tion by  the  University  of  Berlin  and  entertained  not 
only  with  the  usual  banquets,  but  with  a  concert  given 
by  a  large  student  chorus  especially  arranged  for  the  oc- 
casion, and  a  flight  over  Berlin  in  an  airship.  Later,  at 
the  time  when  the  World  *s  Fair  in  San  Francisco  was 
planned,  the  Institute  worked  in  favor  of  participation 
by  German  exhibitors. 

Though  the  upbuilding  and  directing  of  the  America- 
Institute  required  the  greatest  part  of  his  time  and  atten- 
tion during  the  year  in  Berlin,  Miinsterberg  took  keen 
delight  in  his  academic  activities.  In  the  first  half  of  the 
academic  year,  the  so-called  ** winter  semester"  from  Octo- 
ber to  Easter,  he  gave  a  course,  four  hours  in  the  week,  on 
Applied  Psychology,  a  field  in  which  he  had  been  a  pioneer 
in  America  and  which  was  beginning  to  rouse  interest 
in  Germany.  Miinsterberg  also  gave  a  so-called  ** public'* 
lecture  course  to  which,  though  it  belonged  to  the  regular 
durriculum,  students  from  all  departments  as  well  as  spe- 
cial students  were  admitted.  Once  a  week,  in  a  hall  filled 
to  overflowing,  six  hundred  listened  to  the  lectures  on 
** Idealistic  Philosophy.''  In  this  course,  which  was  a 
suitable  complement  to  the  specialized  lectulre  on  Applied 
Psychology,  Miinsterberg  presented  an  outline  of  his  own 
system  of  philosophy.  In  the  summer  semester — from  the 
end  of  the  long  Easter  vacation  till  the  middle  of  August 

197 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


— his  more  technical  course,  two  hours  a  week  was  an  in- 
troduction into  philosophy,  and  the  public  course  on 
*' Freedom  of  the  Will/' 

It  is  customary  in  a  German  university  for  a  new  full 
professor  to  deliver  a  formal  inaugural  address,  some- 
thing in  the  nature  of  the  inaugural  speeches  made  by  new 
presidents  of  colleges  in  this  country,  in  which  he  ex- 
plains his  ideals  and  the  contributions  toward  the  life  and 
scholarship  of  the  university  which  he  intends  to  offer. 
In  the  case  of  the  exchange  professors  who  were  not  only 
new  members  of  the  faculty  but  honored  representatives 
of  their  native  universities,  the  occasion  was  made  es- 
pecially solemn  and  distinguished.  On  the  ninth  of 
November,  accordingly,  a  new,  impressive  lecture  hall 
was  filled  with  official  and  academic  dignitaries  and  their 
ladies  who  waited  for  the  entrance  of  the  Empress  and 
the  Emperor.  The  Roosevelt  Professor,  or  the  professor 
sent  to  Berlin  by  Columbia,  not  necessarily  himself  a 
Columbia  professor,  was  Alphonso  Smith,  Professor  of 
English  at  the  University  of  Virginia.  His  address  was 
delivered  first,  then  followed  Miinsterberg^s  exposition  of 
the  reasons  for  and  the  purposes  of  his  exchange  professor- 
ship for  the  academic  year. 

Of  his  American  experience  he  said: 

.  .  .  there  was  much  to  teach  and  still  more  to  l^m  and  the 
prejudices  brought  with  me  from  my  home  faded  away  like 
morning  mist.  What  Carl  Schurz  said  of  politics  was  true  for 
me  in  regard  to  my  academic  life:  "The  German  University  I 
revered  like  a  mother  and  the  American  one  I  loved  like  a  bride.'' 

Then  he  spoke  of  his  opportunity  for  binding  together 
the  thoughts  of  the  old  and  the  new  world  in  his  capacity 
as  director  of  the  America-Institute: 

*  .  .  .  The  halfnesses  of  a  colorless  cosmopolitanism  lie  far  be- 
hind our  time ;  we  of  the  present  know  that  science  is  and  should 

198 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 

be  thoroughly  national.  For  the  truth  which  scholarship  seeks 
is  not,  as  it  may  seem  to  superficial  philosophical  insight,  some- 
thing complete  which  is  merely  hidden  and  can  be  discovered 
by  research.  No,  truth  is  something  ever  to  be  created,  to  be 
formed,  for  truth  is  the  reality  of  experience  worked  over  so  that 
it  is  made  serviceable  to  the  ultimate  purposes  of  thought.  All 
truth,  Uke  all  beauty,  all  right  and  all  faith  should  therefore  bear 
the  seal  of  its  creators  and  above  all,  that  of  the  nationality 
which  brought  it  forth. 

But  the  international  relations  in  research  and  education,  in 
literature  and  art,  in  welfare  work  and  law,  in  commerce  and 
industry,  in  morals  and  faith  have  become  so  alive  and  so  mani- 
fold that  they  undeniably  demand  an  organization  with  definite 
aims. 

After  expressing  his  hope  that  the  America-Institute 
would  be  followed  by  similar  German  institutes  in  co- 
operation with  other  countries  he  added :  **  . .  .  And  finally 
the  other  nations  will  follow  the  German  example,  until 
a  carefully  woven  net  of  international  politics  of  culture 
will  enwrap  the  whole  globe.'' 

Then  he  explained  his  choice  of  applied  psychology  as 
the  subject  for  his  chief  lecture  course.  The  young  science 
psychology  had  been  born  and  bred  in  Germany,  and  had 
spread  nowhere  so  widely  and  rapidly  as  in  America; 
hence  its  most  recent  outgrowth,  applied  psychology,  was 
finding  there  most  fertile  soil  for  new  development.  As  an 
exponent  of  American  scientific  progress  as  well  as  in  the 
interest  of  the  science  itself,  he  was  giving  the  first  regular 
course  ever  offered  at  a  university  in  applied  psychology. 

** Among  English  speaking  people  to-day,''  he  said, 
''Harvard  is  considered  the  stronghold  of  philosophy. 
Nowhere  do  so  many  different  philosophical  movements 
clash  as  in  Harvard;  philosophy  has  nowhere  a  prouder 
home.  .  .  .  The  name  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  is  to  the 
American  the  symbol  for  the  search  after  ultimate  truth, 
after  deepest  meaning." 

199 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


Outside  the  University,  too,  Miinsterberg  was  called 
upon  to  lecture.  The  topics  of  these  lectures  were  much 
like  those  on  which  he  was  accustomed  to  speak  before 
similar  organizations  in  America.  But  beyond  scholarly 
contributions,  Miinsterberg 's  special  position  demanded  of 
him  that  he  should  interpret  the  land  from  which  he 
came  as  academic  messenger.  Hence  he  was  invited  to 
talk  to  large  audiences  on  ** American  Culture''  and 
** American  Intellectual  Life.''  In  these  interpretations 
he  emphasized  as  the  three  mainsprings  of  American  de- 
velopment: Puritanism,  the  democratic  belief  in  the  equal 
rights  of  men,  and  belief  in  the  intrinsic  value  of  work; 
and  he  dwelt  on  the  good  fruits  of  these  influences. 
Particularly  he  desired  to  weed  out  the  erroneous  European 
idea  that  American  life  centered  round  material  interests; 
he  pointed  out  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  who  looked  beneath 
the  surface  must  perceive  that  the  eager  and  restless  ac- 
tivity of  the  American  worker  is  for  him  not  merely  a 
means  toward  gain,  but  an  end  in  itself,  and  that  this 
same  spirit  has  imparted  to  American  intellectual  life 
breadth  and  energy. 

It  was  a  source  of  special  delight  to  Miinsterberg  that 
he  was  asked  to  address  students  in  his  old  home,  his 
native  town  of  Danzig.  The  Institute  of  Technology  of 
Danzig  is  located  in  the  suburb  Langfuhr,  where  he  had 
spent  his  boyhood  and  where  his  oldest  brother  had  his 
home.  To  the  students  of  this  technological  institute 
Miinsterberg  spoke  on  the  *'Technic  of  the  Soul." 

Through  Miinsterberg 's  efforts  an  international  students' 
club  was  founded  at  the  Berlin  University;  this  was  fol- 
lowed by  one  at  Leipzig,  and  when  the  movement  had 
once  started,  it  spread,  in  subsequent  years,  to  other 
universities  in  Germany.  The  aims  that  Miinsterberg  had 
in  mind  when,  together  with  Dr.  Nasmith  of  Cornell,  he 
founded  the  International  Students'  Club,  will  appear  most 

200 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 

clearly  in  his  own  words  with  which  he  addressed  the 
charter  members  at  the  first  meeting : 

In  this  spirit  and  animated  by  these  wishes,  I  sat  in  my  study 
in  the  America-Institute  when  Dr.  Nasmith  of  Cornell  University, 
a  student  in  Berlin  this  winter,  called  on  me  and  asked  me  if  it 
were  not  possible  to  found  at  the  Berlin  University  an  interna- 
tional club  like  those  already  existing  for  years  in  his  university, 
Cornell,  and  in  my  university,  Harvard.     He  had  scarcely  spoken, 
when  memories  rose  in  my  mind  of  unforgettably  stimulatmg 
hours  which  I  had  enjoyed  many  a  time  as  member  of  the  Cos- 
mopolitan Club  of  Harvard.    I  thought  of  our  last  banquet  m 
the  club  rooms  to  which  the  German,  the  English,  and  the  Jap- 
anese  Ambassador  had  come  from  Washington  to  Boston  and  at 
which  we  listened  to  festive  speeches  in  ever  new  languages,  and 
enjoyed  Hindu  and  Chinese  songs  with  Russian  and  Japanese 
beverages.    I  thought  of  all  the  friendly  relations  which  had  been 
established  there  before  my  very  eyes  not  only  between  German 
and  American  students,  but  among  academic  men  of  all  nations 
of  the  globe.     And  I  felt  clearly  that  he  who  would  promote  cul- 
tural relations  among  peoples,  as  the  spirit  of  the  America-In- 
stitute demands— that  he  must  indeed  think  first  of  the  academic 
young  men  who  represent  the  best  forces  of  every  land  and  who 
are  brought  together  in  their  best,  their  most  impressionable  and 
most  fruitful  years.     Hence  I  could  not  hesitate  and  gladly  I 
promised  to  see  to  it  that  in  the  sphere  of  the  University  and 
equivalent  institutions  in  Berlin  a  Cosmopolitan  Club  should  be 
called  into  life  in  which  students  of  every  nation  should  find  a 
most  cordial  welcome.  .  .  . 

He  emphasized,  however,  that  the  spirit  of  this  new  or- 
ganization  should  be  not  ** cosmopolitan,"  but  *' inter- 
national." 

Let  me  begin  with  a  negative  point.  The  spirit  of  the  new 
club  is  not  cosmopolitan,  and  it  is  not  a  matter  of  chance, 
but  of  principle,  that  we  have  changed  the  name,  although  we 
have  imitated  the  American  Cosmopolitan  Clubs  in  many  ways  m 
drawing  up  our  constitution.  We  do  not  plan  a  cosmopolitan, 
but  an  international  club  and  this  distmction  which  may  seem 
to  some  scarcely  perceptible,  is  in  fact  an  essential  one— indeed 

201 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

one  of  the  greatest  importance  in  the  interpretation  of  cultural 
relations.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  We  want  to  make  sure  that  our  organization  is  not 
cosmopolitan  in  the  sense  that  the  national  idea  is  destroyed  by 
international  hopes.  The  characteristics,  independence,  and  con- 
scious worth  of  each  special  nation  are  taken  for  granted  and 
are  the  starting-point  for  all  over-national  relations  which  we 
cultivate  and  desire  to  serve. 

Then  he  pointed  out  that  the  nation,  not  the  race, 
should  be  considered  the  unit.  Just  as*  cosmopolitanism 
was  the  outgrowth  of  eighteenth  century  rationalism,  so 
the  race  doctrine  was  a  result  of  the  strong  naturalistic 
conception  that  triumphed  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

But  inr  the  twentieth  ctotury  men  want  to  think  historically  once 
more  and  aim  toward  a  new  idealism  which  takes  hold  of  the 
youth  of  all  lands.  From  the  rationalistic  point  of  view,  nation- 
ality is  merely  a  restriction  and  the  aim  of  rationalism  is  that 
which  all  rational  beings  have  in  common;  and  as  three  times 
three  is  nine  for  every  one,  so  truth  must  speak  the  language 
of  colorless  logic  and  all  culture  must  be  ordered  according 
to  a  scheme  of  rational  thought.  We,  however,  feel  from  the 
depth  of  our  historic  spirit  that  truth  must  be  created  and  that 
in  every  truth  the  character  of  the  creator  is  made  manifest. 
It  is  senseless  in  the  same  way  to  strive  after  one  art  and  one 
law;  but  the  culture  of  the  world  must  develop  in  the  whole 
fullness  and  manifoldness  of  truths,  of  beauties,  moralities, 
and  sacrednesses. 

In  the  same  way,  he  explained,  we  can  no  longer  recog- 
nize the  naturalistic  view,  for  the  time  when 

.  .  men  were  hypnotized  by  natural  science  they  forgot  that  after 
everything  exphcable  in  the  lite,  of  peoples  had  been  explained, 
no  real  historic  problem  had  been  touched,  much  less  solved. 
For  the  human  beings  who  enter  into  history  as  striving  person- 
alities are  not  those  biological  organisms  whom  the  scientist 
contemplates   from   the   point   of  view   of   race,   but   they   are 

202 


V 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 

personalities  with  free  wills  who  must  be  understood  in  the 
spirit  of  their  wills.  Not  what  nature  has  created,  but  the 
ideal  that  is  powerful  within  them  separates  them  and  binds 
them  together.  To  be  an  American  does  not  mean  to  have 
inherited  a  special  form  of  the  skull  or  to  be  descended  from 
ancestors  who  had  immigrated,  a  hundred  years  ago,  with  this 
or  that  racial  group — to  be  an  American  means,  for  any  one  who 
wants  to  understand  the  country  historically  at  all,  to  make 
his  will  a  part  of  a  network  of  hope  and  strivings,  of  political 
and  legal  and  commercial  aims  which  must  be  the  common  good 
of  all  citizens  of  this  particular  nation.  .  .  . 

Further  he  said:  **In  the  world  of  culture,  in  contrast 
to  the  world  of  commerce,  it  is  true  that  the  more  is 
given,  the  greater  the  gain,  and  that  he  who  keeps  his 
goods  for  himself,  must  lose.'* 

Again  he  emphasized  that  the  more  understanding  the 
academic  youth  acquires,  with  the  aim  of  destroying  narrow 
prejudices,  the  sooner  its  idealism  will  overcome  the  over- 
estimption  of  mere  technical  progress:  **Good  will  pene- 
trates farther  than  any  wireless  telegraphy,  enthusiasm 
dares  to  soar  higher  than  any  airship,  mutual  understand- 
ing prevents  more  misery  than  any  antitoxin/' 

Then  he  expressed  the  belief  that  conversation  with  one 
who  knows  a  foreign  country  thoroughly,  such  conversation 
as  is  made  possible  in  the  new  students'  club,  has  more 
value  than  a  superficial  first-hand  knowledge  of  the  country. 

Things  are,  after  all,  what  they  are  for  the  living  spirit  and  a 
sensible  word  with  a  friend  who  knows  his  home  land  may  re- 
veal to  us  more  about  a  foreign  country  than  the  most  faithful 
wandering  with  Baedeker  in  hand.  .  .  .  Understanding  means 
influence,  understanding  means  peace,  understanding  means 
human  worth,  and  your  university  years  can  give  you  nothing 
more  glorious  for  life  than  this  spirit  of  understanding  respon- 
siveness to  the  whole  of  the  world^s  culture.  And  so  each  one 
of  you.  Frenchman  and  Russian,  Japanese  and  American,  South 
African  and  Australian,  Chinese  and  German  be  welcome  here 
to  give  and  to  take.    Let  each  be  filled  with  a  glowing  conscious- 

203 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

ness,  each  convinced  that  his  own  home  offers  something  peculiar 
and  of  lasting  value  and  that  the  way  of  the  others  is  no  less 
necessary.  For  here  it  shall  be  as  in  the  great  r^al  world,  where 
the  symphony  of  the  world  culture  would  not  be  conceivable, 
if  all  the  instruments  were  only  flutes  or  only  bass  viols.  The 
violins  must  sing  and  the  trumpets  flourish  and  the  horns  blow 
and  the  harps  resound,  for  then  only  the  Lord  of  world  history 
mounts  the  conductor's  platform  and  jubilantly  beats  the  time. 

Thus  Miinsterberg's  executive  duties  on  the  one  hand, 
academic  duties  on  the  other,  and  manifold  interests  beside, 
made  stern  demands  on  his  time  and  strength.  Neverthe- 
less he  entered  with  full  enthusiasm  into  the  social  life  of 
the  capital,  for  an  exchange  professor  was  feted  with 
exuberant  hospitality.  The  professors  at  Berlin  were  ac- 
customed to  entertaining.  Outside  the  academic  circle 
proper  and  that  of  the  higher  officials  connected  with  the 
University,  Miinsterberg  had  many  ties  among  public  men, 
financiers,  authors,  artists,  men  in  almost  every  sphere 
of  interest.  Active  social  life  under  these  peculiarly  ad- 
vantageous conditions,  Miinsterberg  considered  not  merely 
a  recreation  or  pastime,  but  in  itself  a  duty  as  a  field  in 
which  seed  was  planted  for  most  valuable  intercourse  and 
exchange  of  ideas.  Although  evenings  passed  in  brisk  con- 
versation after  days  of  tense  work  were  an  additional  tax 
on  his  nervous  strength,  nevertheless  he  never  felt  that  he 
was  wasting  his  energies  on  vapid  conventionalities;  for 
the  gilded  shell  which,  with  his  innate  sense  of  beauty,  he 
also  enjoyed,  always  held  a  solid  kernel. 

The  season  opened  with  a  festive  event  that  was  really 
academic,  but  that  carried  in  its  trail  many  social  functions. 
The  University  of  Berlin — one  of  the  young  universities  in 
a  country  where  academic  life  had  flourished  in  the  Middle 
j^ges — ^was  celebrating  its  one  hundredth  anniversary.  In 
the  first  week  of  October  there  was  an  official  celebration  on 
a  magnificent  scale  at  the  University,  in  which  all  the  dig- 

204 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 


nitaries  partook,  and  the  state  was  represented  by  the 
Emperor  and  the  imperial  family.  Honorary  degrees  were 
conferred  by  deans  of  the  four  faculties  of  the  University, 
and  delegates  from  foreign  universities  were  solemnly  re- 
ceived. The  mathematician  Poincare,  delegate  from 
France,  was  given  a  tumultuous  ovation;  an  enthusiastic 
welcome  was  accorded  to  the  American  delegates,  Profes- 
sor Peabody  of  Harvard,  the  first  exchange  professor ;  the 
late  Professor  Learned  from  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania; and  President  Butler  of  Columbia. 

Other  occasions  on  the  borderland  between  the  social 
and  purely  intellectual  were  the  congresses  in  which  Miin- 
sterberg took  part.  The  Naturalists'  Society  met  at  his 
native  city  Danzig.  The  International  Congress  of  Psychi- 
aters came  together  at  Berlin  where  the  members  were 
given  an  official  reception. 

Of  purely  social  gatherings  there  was  a  multitude.  Dur- 
ing September,  while  he  was  occupied  with  the  America- 
Institute  in  its  early  stages,  Miinsterberg  lived  in  the  house- 
hold of  his  brother.  Dr.  Emil  Miinsterberg.  It  was  Hugo's 
greatest  delight  that  the  year  in  Berlin  brought  him, 
after  long  sojourn  across  the  seas,  near  his  brothers.  Otto, 
the  oldest  brother,  was  still  carrying  on  his  father's  busi- 
ness in  Danzig,  and  had  his  hospitable  house  and  large 
garden  in  the  suburb  where  Hugo  had  played  as  boy; 
the  youngest  brother  Oskar,  then  a  bachelor,  who  lived  in 
Leipzig,  spent  a  great  part  of  his  time  at  Berlin,  where 
he  was  well  known  in  business  and  art  circles.  He  was 
an  authority  on  Chinese  and  Japanese  art  and  had  pub- 
lished numerous  scholarly  books. 

On  the  first  of  October  Hugo  left  his  brother's  house 
to  meet  his  wife  and  daughters  who  came  from  the  Vosges^ 
and  to  take  them  into  their  new  quarters  in  the  Palast 
Hotel.  This  hotel  was  on  a  lively  square  in  the  heart 
of  the  city,  with  life  surging  about  it  at  all  hours  of  the 

205 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

day  and  a  great  part  of  the  night.  A  flock  of  flower 
venders  always  made  the  square  bright  and  picturesque, 
like  a  garden  growing  on  the  pavement.  From  this  center, 
the  University,  the  theaters,  the  Tiergarten  or  large  park, 
shops  and  residences  could  be  reached  with  equal  ease. 

At  Thanksgiving  a  banquet  was  given  by  and  for  the 
large  American  colony  which  gathered  with  sentiment, 
turkey  and  cranberries  to  celebrate  its  holiday.  Miinster- 
berg  and  his  colleague.  Professor  Alphonso  Smith,  were 
the  two  speakers,  and  when  they  had  finished.  Ambassador 
David  Jayne  Hill,  in  a  jocular  vein,  told  the  story  of  an 
old  man  who  on  Thanksgiving  wanted  to  be  grateful  and 
acknowledged  that  he  had  only  two  teeth,  **but  they  hit.'* 
**And  so,"  said  Mr.  Hill,  *'we  have  had  only  two  speeches, 
but  they  hit.'' 

Christmas  was  heralded  in  Berlin  by  forests  of  Christ- 
mas trees  that  sprang  up  on  the  open  squares,  booths 
with  tinsel  and  toys,  a  profusion  of  flowers — for  the 
climate  was  mild — and  green  everywhere  on  the  streets, 
including  mistletoe  for  the  Americans. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  January  Miinsterberg  and  his  wife, 
who  had  hitherto  entertained  only  in  small  groups  and 
mostly  their  American  friends,  gave  a  dinner  which  a 
hundred  guests  attended.  Among  them  were  statesmen, 
scholars,  authors,  artists,  and  financiers  with  their  wives 
and  daughters.  Graceful  toasts  were  spoken  by  Ambas- 
sador Hill ;  by  the  former  German  Ambassador  to  Washing- 
ton, Theodor  von  Holleben;  by  the  theologian,  Harnack; 
the  historian,  Eduard  Meyer;  and  Professor  Alphonso 
Smith.  In  Ambassador  Hill's  speech  the  grace  of  the 
diplomat  was  combined  with  the  depth  of  the  scholar.  He 
alluded  to  Miinsterberg 's  book  The  Eternal  Values  and 
spoke  of  the  eternal  values  that  bind  together  men  and 
nations. 

Not  many  days  after  this  festivity,  a  dark  shadow  fell 

206 


AN  ACADEMIC  ENVOY 


on  Miinsterberg 's  bright  life.  His  brother  Emil,  while 
tramping  in  the  snow  on  a  vacation  tour  in  the  mountains, 
caught  a  severe  cold  that  turned  into  pneumonia.  On  the 
twenty-sixth  of  January  he  died  in  his  brother  Hugo's 
arms.  After  the  funeral,  a  public  memorial  meeting  was 
arranged  in  honor  of  this  much  loved  and  widely  honored 
philanthropist.  This  took  place  in  a  large  hall  on  the 
second  of  April  and  memorial  orations  were  delivered  by 
prominent  men  who  had  been  associated  with  Emil  Miin- 
sterberg in  his  distinguished,  fruitful,  and  far-reaching 
administrative,  scholarly,  and  charitable  work. 

The  summer  semester  in  a  German  university  does  not 
close  until  the  end  of  July:  on  the  27th  of  the  month 
Miinsterberg  gave  his  formal  ''farewell  address,"  and 
until  that  time  the  affairs  of  the  America-Institute,  too, 
demanded  his  presence.  On  the  twenty-eighth,  at  last, 
he  took  his  vacation.  For  a  complete  rest,  after  a  year 
in  which  all  his  energies  had  been  used  to  the  utmost, 
he  took  the  cure  at  Kissingen,  and  there  spent  a  few  weeks 
of  leisure  and  solitude.  He  then  joined  his  wife  and 
daughters,  and  with  them  embarked  on  the  8.  8.  Cleveland, 
westward  bound  for  America  and  Harvard.  He  was 
grieved  to  part  from  the  two  brothers  left  him,  who  stood 
waving  at  the  pier,  but  happy  to  carry  back  with  him  im- 
measurably precious  memories  and  the  unclouded  feeling 
that  his  labor  of  love  had  borne  and  would,  in  the  future, 
bear  good  fruit. 


CHAPTER    XII 

BACK  AT  HARVARD 
(September,  1911— October,  1912) 

After  a  year  of  adventurous  undertakings,  of  manifold 
new  ties,  of  new  responsibilities  and  exacting  festivities, 
the  following  academic  months  back  at  Harvard  were, 
from  without  at  least,  less  striking.  They  were,  how- 
ever, rich  with  the  never  waning  interest  in  academic 
duties,  with  prolific  writing,  and  numerous  outside  lec- 
tures on  scientific  themes  as  well  as  on  problems  of  public 
life.  They  were  also  distinguished  from  foregoing  years 
by  excursions  into  a  new  field,  namely,  the  application  of 
psychology  to  industrial  life.  The  beginning  of  sympa- 
thetic cooperation  with  men  in  practical  industrial  life 
marked  the  emergence  of  applied  psychology  from  its 
academic  four  walls  into  the  world  of  affairs,  and  as  this 
development  gave  its  peculiar  coloring  to  Miinsterberg's 
public  life  in  the  year  1911-12,  let  us  consider  first  his 
contribution  to  applied  psychology,  which  was  now  absorb- 
ing not  only  the  attention  of  scientists,  but  of  the  public 
at  large. 

In  previous  years,  as  has  been  shown,  Miinsterberg  gave 
much  attention  to  applied  psychology,  so  that  in  his  year  as 
Harvard  Exchange  Professor  in  Berlin,  he  considered  it 
imperative  to  present  this  young  science,  above  all,  to  his 
new  students.  Moreover,  the.  help  that  psychology  can 
offer  in  practical  life  he  had  made  accessible  to  the  public 
in  popular  books :  On  the  Witness  Stand,  Psychotherapy, 
and  Psychology  and  the  Teacher,  Psychology  was  now  to 
be  made  applicable  to  the  human  element  in  industrial 

208 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 


life — the  element  that  science  had  hitherto  neglected  while 
perfecting  the  chemistry,  physics,  and  mechanics  of  in- 
dustrial processes  and  products.  Miinsterberg  did  not  at- 
tempt to  interest  the  public  or  single  manufacturers  in 
the  psychology  of  the  worker  until  he  believed  that  enough 
experiments  had  been  made  by  advanced  graduate  students 
in  the  Harvard  Psychological  Laboratory  to  warrant 
the  use,  outside  of  laboratory  doors,  of  knowledge  thus 
gained.  Moreover,  interest  in  the  new  practical  possibil- 
ities of  psychology  was  growing  in  academic  circles. 
President  Richmond  of  Union  College,  in  Schenectady, 
New  York,  invited  Miinsterberg  to  give  a  course  on  **  Ap- 
plied Psychology '*  at  that  college  during  the  months  of 
February  and  March,  1912.  Miinsterberg  gladly  re- 
sponded, and  made  several  journeys  to  Schenectady  where 
he  found  much  pleasure  during  his  week-end  visits  in  the 
charming  and  musical  household  of  that  amiable  Scotch- 
man, President  Richmond. 

Miinsterberg 's  writing,  too,  in  this  year  was  devoted 
largely  to  applied  psychology,  as  will  be  shown  later. 
All  in  all,  this  was  a  year  auspicious  for  the  launching  of 
psychology  into  the  sea  of  practical  industrial  life. 

Since  it  was  Miinsterberg  *s  habit  to  seek  as  well  as  to 
give  information,  he  desired  to  acquaint  himself  at  first 
hand  with  the  work  in  and  management  of  large  factories. 
Accordingly,  under  the  guidance  of  directors  or  head 
managers,  he  investigated  the  General  Electric  Company, 
in  Lynn,  the  International  Harvester  Company,  in  Chicago, 
the  Plimpton  Press,  the  Waltham  Watch  Company  and 
others.  Manufacturers  met  him  half  way  and  expressed 
much  confidence  in  the  eventual  benefits  to  be  gained  from 
the  new  science.  Miinsterberg  himself  had  faith  in  the 
growing  interest  of  business  men,  and  this  faith  was  amply 
rewarded.  He  sent  out  a  circular  letter  to  1,000  leading 
manufacturing  companies  requesting  information  about  the 

209 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

mental  traits  which  they  considered  essential  in  their  em- 
ployees of  various  classes  and  kinds.  The  ready  response 
of  these  companies  was  a  most  hopeful  sign.  Several 
hundred  replies  were  received,  some  of  them  detailed  and 
worked  out  with  earnest  care  and  attention.  Among  the 
more  elaborate  replies  were  letters  from  Tiffany  and  Com- 
pany, New  York,  the  Oakland  Chemical  Company,  New 
York,  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  the  Lanston  Mono- 
type Machine  Company,  Philadelphia,  Armour  and  Com- 
pany, Chicago,  the  Armstrong  Transfer  Express  Com- 
pany, Boston,  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company,  and 
the  Gillette  Safety  Razor  Company. 

From  this  last  report  which,  as  the  representative  of 
the  Gillette  Safety  Razor  Company  said  himself,  had  been 
prepared  with  considerable  pains  and  made  as  specific 
and  complete  as  possible,  let  us  quote  a  few  passages  here 
and  there,  merely  by  way  of  showing  examples.  The 
labor  of  the  employees  is  divided  into  several  headings, 
such  as  '*Hand  work  requiring  dexterity,''  **Hand  work 
of  less  skill, ' '  * '  Inspection  of  various  unfinished  processes, 
etc.,  and  these  again  have  subdivisions  such  as  ** grinding,'' 
*  *  honing, "  *  *  strapping, ' '  etc.  The  requirements  for  '  *  hon- 
ing" are  described  thus: 

On  this  process,  for  a  few  minutes  at  a  time  (2  out  of  every 
6)  the  operator  requires  immediate  focused  attention  while 
turning  blades.  Then  the  attention  is  diverted  to  lading  the 
machine.  In  the  first  process,  the  thought  is  on  the  danger  of 
touching  blades  and  destroying;  in  the  second,  the  thought  is 
for  the  safety  of  fingers.  Nervous  girls  can  never  become 
expert  on  this  work,  because  of  destroying  blades  and  cutting 
themselves.  Operator^  require  fearlessness,  combined  with 
caution.  ... 

And  the  requirements  of  men  employed  in  printing,  pol- 
ishing, and  machine  adjustment: 

...  A  person  who  is  satisfied  with  hasty  setting  or  who  stops 

210 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

when  a  thing  is  "good  enough"  is  useless  on  this  work— must 
not  overlook  small  differences.  Requires  discretion  and  alert- 
ness to  distinguish  factors  entering  into  and  causing  defects.  .  .  . 
Standard  is  rigid  and  precise  and  operator  requires  attitude  of 
regular  conformity  more  than  personal  decision. 

The  inspection  of  blades : 

This  work  requires  speed  without  a  sense  of  haste.  I  mean, 
doing  rapidly,  regardless  of  the  flight  of  time.  To  insure  this 
self-reliance  and  sureness  of  decision  are  necessary.  The  eye 
test  is  supplemented  by  a  tactual  and  cutting  test.  The  tactual 
requires  delicacy  of  touch.  The  action  is  a  very  light  contact, 
scarcely  heavy  enough  to  be  called  pressure,  combined  with 
a  gliding  over  the  edge  of  a  very  small  surface  of  the  finger. 
Operators  easily  learn  to  distinguish  extreme  roughness  by  a 
granular  feeling,  but  a  small  number  distinguish  between  a  slight 
roughness,  which  gives  a  sticky,  clinging  sensation  of  cutting, 
in  contrast  to  the  quick  cutting  of  the  finest  edges.  In  the 
one,  there  is  a  perceptible  feeling  of  width,  which  is  lacking 
on  the  sharpest  blades.  This  same  feeling  of  width  is  perceptible 
to  persons  of  the  finest  sensibility  in  separating  dullness  from 
smoothness.  ... 

Intelligent  and  careful  response  of  this  kind  furnished 
the  psychologist  with  suggestive  data  and  proved,  more- 
over, that  the  offer  of  scientific  help  was  enthusiastically 
received  in  the  world  of  affairs.  Of  course  it  was  not  the 
professor's  intention  to  devise  tests  in  his  laboratory  for 
a  razor-blade  inspector  or  a  silversmith  or  an  engineer 
or  a  salesman.  The  main  issue  was  to  determine  a  principle 
by  which  any  candidate  for  any  industrial  job  might  be 
tested  at  any  time.  It  was  obvious  that  the  possible 
locomotive  engineer  of  a  railroad  company  cannot  be  pro- 
vided with  two  trains  about  to  collide  for  the  sake  of  test- 
ing his  promptness  and  presence  of  mind;  a  possible 
salesman  cannot  be  provided  with  a  horde  of  customers 
to  test  his  patience.  Therefore  it  was  necessary  to  repro- 
duce the  situation  in  which  the  candidate  was  to  act  or 

211 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

react,  in  the  simplest  possible  form,  so  that  no  more 
material  should  be  needed  than  a  pack  of  cards  or  a  sheet 
of  paper.  It  was  demanded,  therefore,  that  the  psycholo- 
gist  should  determine  exactly  what  the  mental  process 
was  that  the  accomplishment  of  a  given  task  required 
and,  instead  of  reproducing  the  situation  in  miniature,  to 
reproduce  the  process  in  a  parallel  situation. 

This  method  Miinsterberg  used  in  testing  about  thirty 
girls  employed  by  the  New  England  Telephone  Company. 
This  company  looked  eagerly  to  psychology  for  help  in  its 
problems,  because  it  found,  to  its  economic  loss  and 
the  disappointment  of  employees,  that  girls  who  had 
been  carefuUy  trained  by  the  company  were  leaving  be- 
cause unable  to  do  the  work.  The  description  of  the  tests 
actually  made,  can  best  be  given  in  Miinsterberg 's  own 
words  by  quoting  from  his  account  of  them  in  Psychology 
and  Industrial  Efficiency: 

These  common   tests  referred  to  memory,  attention,  intelli- 
gence, exactitude,  and  rapidity.    I  may  characterize  the  experi- 
ments in  a  few  words.    The  memory  examination  consisted  ot 
reading  to  the  whole  class  at  first  two  numbers  of  4  digits,  then 
two  of  5  digits,  then  two  of  6  digits,  and  so  on  up  to  figures  of 
12  digits,  and  demanding  that  they  be  written  down  as  soon  as 
a  signal  was  given.    The  experiments  on  attention,  which  m  this 
ease  of  the  telephone  operators  seemed  to  me  especially  sig- 
nificant, made  use  of  a  method  the  principle  of  which  has  fre- 
quently been  applied  in  the  experimental  psychology  of  indi- 
vidual differences  and  which  I  adjusted  to  our  special  needs.     The 
requirement  is  to  cross  out  a  particular  letter  in  a  connected 
text.    Every  one  of  the  thirty  women  in  the  classroom  received 
the  same  first  page  of  a  newspaper  of  that  morning.     I  empha- 
size that  it  was  a  new  paper>  as  the  newness  of  the  content 
was   to   secure   the   desired   distraction   of   attention.     As   soon 
as  the  signal  was  given,  each  one  of  the  girls  had  to  cross  out 
with  a  pencil  every  "a"  in  the  text  for  six  minutes.     After  a 
certain  time,  a  bell  signal  was  given  and  each  then  had  to  begin 
a  new  column.     In  this  way  we  could  find  out,  first,  how  many 

212 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

letters  were  correctly  crossed  out  in  those  six  minutes,  secondly, 
how  many  letters  were  overlooked,  and,  thirdly,  how  the  recog- 
nition and  the  oversight  were  distributed  in  the  various  parts  of 
the  text.  In  every  one  of  these  three  directions  strong  individual 
differences  were  indeed  noticeable.  Some  persons  crossed  out 
many,  but  also  overlooked  many,  others  overlooked  hardly  any  of 
the  a^s,  but  proceeded  very  slowly  so  that  the  total  number  of  the 
crossed-out  letters  was  small.  Moreover,  it  was  found  that 
some  at  first  do  poor  work,  but  soon  reach  a  point  at  which 
their  attention  remains  on  a  high  level;  others  begin  with  a 
relatively  high  achievement,  but  after  a  short  time  their  atten- 
tion flags,  and  the  number  of  crossed-out  letters  becomes  smaller 
or  the  number  of  unnoticed,  overlooked  letters  increases.  Fluc- 
tuations of  attention,  deficiencies,  and  strong  points  can  be 
discovered  in  much  detail. 

Besides  these  tests,  a  general  intelligence  test  was  used 
that  had  already  been  tried  in  schools  as  a  test  of  the 
relative  intelligence  of  pupils,  and  furthermore,  each  girl 
was  given  some  individual  tests.  Of  these  the  following 
is  interesting  as  especially  adapted  to  try  fitness  for  a 
particular  function: 

The  following  experiment  which  referred  to  the  accuracy  of 
movement  impulses  demanded  that  every  one  try  to  reach  with 
the  point  of  a  pencil  3  different  points  on  the  table  in  the  rhythm 
of  metronome  beats.  On  each  of  these  three  places  a  sheet  of 
paper  was  fixed  with  a  fine  cross  in  the  middle.  The  pencil 
should  hit  the  crossing  point,  and  the  marks  on  the  paper  in- 
dicated how  far  the  movement  had  fallen  short  of  the  goal. 
One  of  these  movements  demanded  the  full  extension  of  the  arm 
and  the  other  two  had  to  be  made  with  half -bent  arm.  I 
introduced  this  last  test  because  the  hitting  of  the  right  holes 
in  the  switchboard  of  the  telephone  office  is  of  great  importance. 

Averages  were  taken  on  the  results  of  all  the  tests  for 
each  girl. 

With  this  average  rank  list,  we  compared  the  practical 
results  of  the  telephone  company  after  three  months  had  passed. 
These  three  months  had  been  sufficient  to  secure  at  least  a  certain 

213 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

discrimination  between  the  best,  the  average,  and  the  unfit. 
The  result  of  this  comparison  was  on  the  whole  satisfactory. 
First,  the  skeptical  telephone  company  had  mixed  with  the 
class  a  number  of  women  who  had  been  in  the  service  for  a  long 
while  and  had  even  been  selected  as  teachers  in  the  telephone 
school.  I  did  not  know,  in  figuring  out  the  results,  which  of 
the  participants  in  the  experiments  these  particulariy  gifted 
outsiders  were.  If  the  psychological  experiments  had  brought 
the  result  that  these  individuals  who  stood  so  high  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  telephone  company  ranked  low  in  the  laboratory 
experiment,  it  would  have  reflected  strongly  on  the  reliability 
of  the  laboratory  method.  The  results  showed,  on  the  contrary, 
that  these  women  who  had  proved  most  able  in  practical  service 
stood  at  the  top  of  our  list.  Correspondingly,  those  who  stood 
the  lowest  in  our  psychological  rank  list  had  in  the  mean  time 
been  found  unfit  in  practical  service  and  had  either  left  the 
company  of  their  own  accord  or  else  had  been  eliminated.  .  .  . 

On  the  other  hand,  Miinsterberg  was  quite  willing  to 
admit  that  achievement  in  practice  and  achievement  in  the 
tests  cannot  correspond  with  mathematical  accuracy,  be- 
cause features  other  than  special  mental  fitness  enter  into 
the  fulfillment  of  the  daily  task,  such  as  poor  health  as  a 
hindrance  or  strong  will  as  an  aid.  Moreover,  this  method 
of  testing  was  merely  the  beginning  of  a  science  that  had 
still  to  be  perfected. 

The  development  of  such  a  method  had  to  overcome 
first  an  instinctive  reluctance  on  the  part  of  thorough 
scholars  who  were  accustomed  to  long,  minute  laboratory 
experiments,  which  of  course  were  not  adapted  to  use  in 
practical  affairs.  But  as  the  psychologists'  interest  in 
individual  differences,  as  opposed  to  general  laws,  grew, 
this  prejudice  waned. 

Where  theoretical  questions  are  to  be  answered  and  scientific 
studies  concerning  the  laws  and  variations  of  the  mind  are  to 
be  undertaken,  the  long  series  of  laboratory  experiments  carried 
on  with  patience  and  devotion  are  indispensable  and  can  never 
be  replaced  by  the  short-cut  methods  of  the  tests.    But  where 

214 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

practical  tasks  of  pedagogy  or  jurisprudence  or  medicine,  or 
especially  of  commerce  and  industry,  are  before  us,  the  method 
of  tests  ought  to  be  sovereign.  It  can  be  adapted  to  the  special 
situations  and  can  succeed  perfectly,  if  the  task  is  to  discover 
the  outlines  of  the  mental  individuality  for  particular  practical 
work. 

The  Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company  welcomed  Miin- 
sterberg no  less  enthusiastically  than  the  New  England 
Telephone  Company,  and  gave  him  generous  opportunity  to 
test  the  fitness  of  motormen  for  the  work  which  involves 
not  only  great  possible  loss  for  the  company,  but  the  safety 
of  human  lives.  In  the  winter  of  1911-1912  the  American 
Association  of  Labor  Legislation  met  for  the  purpose  of 
studying  the  problem  of  accidents  on  street  railways  and 
their  possible  prevention.  Representatives  of  companies 
from  various  cities  were  present  as  well  as  economic, 
physiological,  and  psychological  specialists.  It  was  sug- 
gested at  this  meeting  that  Miinsterberg  make  a  psycholog- 
ical analysis  of  the  mental  processes  of  the  motorman,  ex- 
periment in  the  psychological  laboratory,  and  then  make  a 
report  of  his  methods  and  conclusions  at  another  large 
meeting  of  the  American  Association  of  Labor  Legisla- 
tion on  June  5th  at  Atlantic  City.  Miinsterberg  readily 
consented  to  do  this;  and,  after  he  had  devised  in  the 
laboratory  a  method  of  testing  motormen,  he  was  given 
opportunity  by  the  Boston  Elevated  Company  to  apply 
the  tests  in  March,  1912. 

The  mental  and  temperamental  demand  made  on  a  motor- 
man  was  recognized  as  particularly  complicated,  and  Miin- 
sterberg decided  that  it  was  more  advantageous,  instead 
of  resolving  this  complex  state  into  its  elements,  to  under- 
stand it  in  its  totality. 


...  I  abstracted  from  the  study  of  single  elementary  functions 
and  turned  my  attention  to  that  mental  process  which  after  some 
careful  observations  seemed  to  me  the  really  central  one  for  the 

215 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

problem  of  accidents.  I  found  this  to  be  a  particular  com- 
plicated act  of  attention  by  which  the  manifoldness  of  objects, 
the  pedestrians,  the  carriages,  and  the  automobiles,  are  con- 
tinuously observed  with  reference  to  their  rapidity  and  direction 
in  the  quickly  changing  panorama  of  the.  street. 

For  test  purposes  the  car,  the  street,  and  the  obstacles 
were  not  to  be  reproduced  in  miniature,  since  past  ex- 
perience had  proved  such  miniature  situations  misleading. 
'*The  essential  point  for  the  psychological  experiment  is 
not  the  external  similarity  of  the  apparatus,  but  exclusively 
the  inner  similiarity  of  the  mental  attitude.'*  After  some 
experimenting,  he  finally  decided  on  the  following  test : 

A  card   9   half-inches   broad  and  26   half-inches  long 
represented  the  street.     Two  heavy  lines  half  an  inch  apart 
ran  lengthwise  through  the  center  of  the  card,   and   a 
space  of  4  half -inches  remained  on  either  side.    The  whole 
card  was  divided  into  small  half -inch  squares,  whicb  were 
considered  as  the  units.     Thus  there  was  in  any  cross- 
section  one  unit   between  the  two  central  lines  and  4 
units  on  either  side.    Lengthwise  there  were  26  units. 
The  26  squares  that  lay  between  the  two  heavy  central 
lines  were  marked  with  the  printed  letters  of  the  alphabet 
from  A  to  Z.    These  two  heavy  central  lines  represented 
an  electric  railway  track  on  a  street.     On  either  side  the 
four  rows  of  squares  were  filled  in  an  irregular  way  with 
black  and  red  figures  of  the  three  first  digits.    The  digit 
1  always  represented  a  pedestrian  who  moved  just  one 
step,  and  that  means  from  one  unit  into  the  next;  the 
digit  2  a  horse,  which  moved  twice  as  fast,  that  is,  which 
moved  2  units ;  and  the  digit  3  an  automobile  which  moved 
three  times  as  fast,  that  is,  3  units.    Moreover,  the  black 
digits  stood  for  men,  horses,  and  automobiles  that  moved 
parallel  to  the  track  but  could  not  cross  the  track,  and 
were,   therefore,   to  be   disregarded   in  looking   out   for 
dangers.    The  red  digits,  on  the  other  hand,  were  the 

216 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

dangerous  ones.  They  moved  from  either  side  toward 
the  track.  The  idea  was  that  the  man  to  be  experimented 
on  was  to  find  as  quickly  as  possible  those  jwints  on  the 
track  that  were  threatened  by  the  red  figures,  that  is, 
those  letters  in  the  26  track  units  at  which  the  red  figures 
would  land,  if  they  made  the  steps  their  numbers  indicated. 
A  red  digit  3  that  was  4  steps  from  the  track  was  to  be 
disregarded,  because  it  would  not  reach  the  track.  A 
red  digit  3  that  was  only  1  or  2  steps  from  the  track 
was  also  to  be  disregarded,  because  it  would  cross  beyond 
the  track,  if  it  took  3  steps.  But  a  red  3  that  was  3 
units  from  the  track,  a  red  2  that  was  2  units  from  the 
track,  and  a  red  1  that  was  1  unit  from  the  track  would 
land  on  the  track  itself;  and  the  aim  was  to  find  quickly 
these  points.  The  task  was  difficult,  because  the  many 
black  figures  diverted  the  attention,  and  because  the  red 
figures  too  near  or  too  far  were  easily  confused  with  those 
that  were  just  at  the  dangerous  distance. 


As  soon  as  this  principle  for  the  experiment  was  recognized  as 
satisfactory,  it  was  necessary  to  find  a  technical  device  by  which 
a  movement  over  this  artificial  track  could  be  produced  in 
such  a  way  that  the  rapidity  could  be  controlled  by  the  subject 
of  the  experiment  and  at  the  same  time  measured.  Again  we 
had  to  try  various  forms  of  apparatus.  Finally  we  found  the 
following  form  most  satisfactory.  Twelve  such  cards,  each  pro- 
vided with  a  handle,  He  one  above  another  under  a  glass  plate 
through  which  the  upper  card  can  be  seen.  If  this  highest  card 
is  withdrawn,  the  second  is  exposed,  and,  from  below,  springs 
press  the  remaining  cards  against  the  glass  plate.  The  glass  plate 
with  the  12  cards  below  lies  in  a  black  wooden  box  and  is  com- 
pletely covered  by  a  belt  8  inches  broad  made  of  heavy  black 
velvet.  This  velvet  belt  moves  over  two  cylinders  at  the 
front  and  the  rear  ends  of  the  apparatus.  In  the  center  of  the 
belt  is  a  window  4^2  inches  wide  and  2%  inches  high.  If  the 
front  cylinder  is  turned  by  a  metal  crank,  the  velvet  belt  passes 
over  the  glass  plate  and  the  little,  window  opening  moves  over 
the  card  with  its  track  and  figures.     The  whole  breadth  of  the 

217 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

card,  with  its  central  track  and  its  4  units  on  either  side,  is 
visible  through  it  over  an  area  of  5  units  in  the  length  direction. 
If  the  man  to  be  experimented  on  turns  the  crank  with  his 
right  hand,  the  window  slips  over  the  whole  length  of  the  card, 
one  part  of  the  card  after  another  becomes  visible,  and  then 
he  simply  has  to  call  the  letters  of  those  units  in  the  track  at 
which  the  red  figures  on  either  side  would  land,  if  they  took 
the  number  of  steps  indicated  by  the  digit.  At  the  moment  the 
window  has  reached  Z  on  the  card,  the  experimenter  withdraws 
that  card  and  the  next  becomes  visible,  as  a  second  window  in  the 
belt  appears  at  the  lower  end  when  the  first  disappears  at  the 
upper  end.  In  this  way  the  subject  can  turn  his  crank  un- 
interruptedly until  he  has  gone  through  the  12  cards.  The 
experimenter  notes  down  the  numbers  of  the  cards  and  the 
letters  which  the*  subject  calls.  Besides  this,  the  number  of 
seconds  reflquired  for  the  whole  experiment,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  first  card  to  the  end  of  the  twelfth,  is  measured  with  a 
stopwatch.  This  time  is,  of  course,  dependent  upon  the  rapid- 
ity with  which  the  crank  is  turned.  The  result  of  the  experiment 
is  accordingly  expressed  by  three  figures :  the  number  of  seconds ; 
the  number  of  omissions,  that  is,  of  places  at  which  red  figures 
would  land  on  the  track  which  were  not  noticed  by  the  subject; 
and,  thirdly,  the  number  of  incorrect  places  where  letters  were 
called  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  no  danger  existed.  In  using  the 
results,  we  may  disregai'd  this  third  figure  and  give  our  attention 
to  the  speed  and  the  number  of  omissions. 

A  satisfactory  average  was  taken  for  each  case  by  multi- 
plying the  number  of  omissions  by  10  and  adding  this 
result  to  the  number  of  seconds,  thus  leaving  a  formula 
of  one  figure  for  each  case  instead  of  the  two — ^the  number 
of  seconds  and  the  number  of  omissions. 

This  test  was  tried  on  a  number  of  motormen  in  the 
service  of  the  Boston  Elevated  Company,  of  whom  some 
had  the  best,  some  average  records,  while  others  were 
barely  efficient  enough  to  keep  their  positions. 

.  .  .  The  test  of  the  method  lies  first  in  the  fact  that  the 
tried  motormen  agreed  that  they  really  pass  through  the  ex- 
periment with  the  feeling  which  they  have  on  their  car.    The 

218 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

necessity  of  looking  out  in  both  directions,  right  and  left,  for 
possible  obstacles,  of  distinguishing  those  which  move  toward  the 
track  from  the  many  which  move  along  the  track,  the  quick 
discrimination  among  the  various  rates  of  rapidity,  the  steady 
forward  movement  of  the  observation  point,  the  constant  tempta- 
tion to  give  attention  to  those  which  are  still  too  far  away  or 
to  those  which  are  so  near  that  they  will  cross  the  track  before 
the  approach  of  the  car,  in  short,  the  whole  complex  situation 
with  its  demands  on  attention,  imagination  and  quick  adjustment, 
soon  brings  them  into  an  attitude  which  they  themselves  feel  a3 
identical  with  that  in  practical  life.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
results  show  a  far-reaching  correspondence  between  efficiency 
in  the  experiment  and  efficiency  in  the  actual  service.  .  .  . 

Of  course,  as  in  the  case  of  the  tests  with  the  Telephone 
Company  *s  employees,  correspondence  between  achieve- 
ment in  the  tests  and  achievement  in  practical  work  can- 
not be  attained  to  a  degree  of  mathematical  accuracy, 
because  into  the  task  of  the  motormen,  too,  secondary 
features  may  enter  in  actual  practice  that  cannot  be  re- 
produced in  the  test.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  results 
of  the  tests,  as  compared  with  the  records  of  the  men,  were 
satisfactory,  particularly  since  these  tests  were  the  first 
of  their  kind. 

When  the  American  Association  of  Labor  Legislation 
met  in  June  at  Atlantic  City,  Miinsterberg  was  able  to 
give  a  full  and  satisfactory  report  of  the  results  of  his 
experiments. 

More  responsible  for  life  even  than  those  who  steer 
on  land  are  the  men  on  the  bridge  of  the  merchant  ships. 
The  director  of  a  large  steamship  company  asked  Miinster- 
berg if  some  method  could  not  be  devised  by  which  ship 
officers  unfit  to  cope  in  the  right  way  with  **  unexpected 
suddenly  occurring  complication''  might  be  eliminated. 
According  to  him,  there  were  men  who,  uncertain  whether 
to  respond  to  one  impression  or  another,  are  limited 
in  their  actions;  others  who  react  swiftly,  but  obedient  to 

219 


m. 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

a  first  rash  impulse  without  judgment,  and  therefore 
wrongly;  and  the  fit  men  who  ^*in  the  unexpected  situation 
quickly  review  the  totality  of  the  factors  in  their  relative 
importance  and  with  almost  instinctive  certainty  im- 
mediately come  to  the  same  decision  to  which  they  would 
have  arrived  after  quiet  thought. '  *  Miinsterberg  was  much 
interested  in  the  problem  presented  to  him,  for  he  real- 
ized how  much  depended  on  the  psychical  make-up  of  the 
man  who  in  one  moment  of  peril  could  prevent  or  bring 
on  a  fateful  collision,  and  how  much  disaster  might  be 
forestalled  if  the  instinctive  reaction  of  a  man  in  a  complex 
situation  of  danger  could  be  tested  before  that  final  test 
in  practical  life  that  may  bring  with  it  terrible  calamities. 
These  preliminary  tests,  of  course,  could  not  be  made  with 
ships  on  the  sea;  but  again  the  situation  and  the  mental 
reaction  upon  it  had  to  be  clearly  understood,  and  the 
process  reproduced  in  a  parallel  situation,  however  out- 
wardly different  it  might  be.  Accordingly  a  test  that  re- 
quired no  more  elaborate  apparatus  than  a  pack  of  cards 
was  worked  out  and  tried  on  advanced  students  in  the 
laboratory. 

As  in  the  experiments  with  motormen,  so  here  in  the 
experiments  with  students,  a  definite  scheme  of  taking  the 
average  of  each  subject's  achievement  was  decided  upon, 
and  in  this  case  the  relative  gravity  of  a  mistake  according 
to  the  difficulty  of  the  task  was  indicated  by  a  high  or 
low  number  and  the  sum  of  these  numbers,  for  each  subject, 
was  multiplied  with  the  number  of  seconds  required;  the 
product  represented  the  subject's  average  achievement. 
Moreover,  the  person  with  the  smallest  product  felt  a 
distinct  joy  in  the  experiment,  while  the  one  with  the 
largest  passed  through  painful  minutes  that  put  him  to 
real  organic  discomfort. 

These  experiments  in  the  interest  of  ship  service  were 
welcomed  not  only  by  the  merchant  marine  company  that 

220 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

suggested  them,  but  in  a  very  different  quarter,  quite  out- 
side the  realm  of  industry,  namely,  in  the  United  States 
Naval  War  College  at  Newport.  The  President  of  the  War 
College  invited  Miinsterberg  to  talk  before  the  whole 
college  on  June  4,  1912,  on  the  problems  of  the  navy  man 
— enlisted  man  or  officer — from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
psychologist. 

This  invitation  Miinsterberg  accepted,  and  he  was  de- 
lighted with  the  warm  reception  and  the  attentions  ac- 
corded him  at  the  Naval  War  College,  where  he  was  shown 
all  about  the  institution.  He  found  particular  relish, 
later,  when  he  gave  his  friends  an  account  of  his  visit, 
in  telling  how  the  men  stood  at  rigorous  attention  when- 
ever the  high  officer  who  was  his  guide  entered  a  room, 
and  how  in  one  hall  where  house-cleaning  was  going  on, 
the  men  presented  their  brooms  and  mops  with  a  military 
dash  that  could  not  have  been  more  inspired  with  rifles  and 
bayonets. 

The  lecture  delivered  before  the  war  college  in  June 
appeared  under  the  title  ** Psychology  and  the  Navy"  in 
the  North  American  Review  for  February,  1913,  and  was 
then  reprinted  in  pamphlet  form.  Quotations  at  random 
from  this  address  to  the  naval  men  may  serve  to  illustrate 
this  novel  contact  between  psychology  and  the  man  behind 
the  gun. 

The  problems  of  choosing  men  fit  to  act  wisely  in  a 
crisis  which  applied  to  the  merchant  marine  were  of  course 
just  as  vital  to  the  navy,  and  the  test  that  had  been  care- 
fully worked  out  at  the  suggestion  of  the  ship  company 
was  equally  useful  for  navy  purposes.  Beyond  this,  how- 
ever, Miinsterberg  pointed  out  that  there  were  problems 
peculiar  to  the  warship  navigator. 

The  offiteer  in  the  navy,  however,  does  not  think  primarily 
of  those  psychological  features  which  are  as  important  for  the 

221 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


ocean  greyhounds  of  the  commercial  fleet  as  for  his  ironclad 
floating  fortresses.    His  interest  naturally  turns  to  those  traits 
of  the  mind  which  are  more  directly  connected  with  the  success 
or  failure  in  warfare.    Hence  let  us  consider  that  wide  region 
of  higher  mental  activities,  the  interplay  of  emotion  and  voli- 
tion, judgment  and  imagination,  intellect  and  instinct.     But  then 
we   shall   do  best   in   our  survey   to  discriminate   between   the 
minds  of  the  oflBcers  and  those   of  the  crew.    What   are   the 
mental  characteristics  of  the  many  to  whom  the  few  have  to 
give  their  orders  t     One  psychological  fact  ought  not  to  be  for- 
gotten.   The  many  are  not  simply  a  large   number  of  single 
minds;  they  are  not  only  many,  but  they  are  at  the  same  time 
one.     They  are  held  together — more,  they  are  forged  togethtT 
into  one  compact  mental  mass  in  which  no  single  mind  which 
entered  has  remained  unchanged  in  its  structure  or  in  its  ener- 
gies.    Let  us  by  no  means  believe  that  this  is  only  a  metaphor  or 
a  picturesque  expression  which  is  to  symbolize  the  fact  that 
those  hundreds  of  men  have  certain  ideas  or  desires  or  emotions 
or  feelings  or  prejudices  or  hopes  or  fears  in  conmion,  and  that 
the  superior  may  simply  rely  on  those  common   factors  and, 
accordingly,  ignore  the  individual  differences  among  the  men. 
Their  unity  is  not  a  simple  uniformity;  their  minds  are  inter- 
related and  not  simply  added  to  one  another.    Yet  we  must 
keep  just  as  far  from  any  reminiscences  of  popular  mystical 
ideas,  as  if  by  a  kind  of  telepathy  one  mind  reaches  out   to 
another  and  fuses  with  it  in  a  spiritual  communion.     Seen  from 
a  psychological  standpoint,  the  personality  is  completely  con- 
fined to  the  impressions,  memories,  imaginations,  emotions,  and 
volitions  which  originate  in  its  own  compass,  and  no  mind  can 
intrude  into  this  mental  individuality.    Whatever  comes  to  the 
individual  mind  from  without  must  come  through  the  senses  in  the 
form  of  impressions  and  sense  perceptions.    But   when   these 
impressions  are  perceptions  not  of  the  dead  things  around  us, 
but  of  living  beings  animated  by  interests  like  ours  and  engaged 
in  action  with  us,  the  impression  influences  the  whole  setting  of 
the  mind  in  one  characteristic  direction.    The  psychologist  char- 
acterizes this  as  an  increase  of  suggestibility.     The  particular 
man   becomes   more  suggestible   to   all   propositions   which   his 
senses  receive  from  his  companions.     This  psycho-physical  in- 
crease of  suggestibility  transforms  the  individuals  now  into  a 
crowd,  now  into  a  rushing  mob,  now  into  an  enthusiastic  army, 
and  whoever  deals  with  such  a  group  of  men  in  which  every 

222 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 


one  knows  himself  as  a  part  of  the  cooperating  whole  must  be 
fully  aware  of  the  advantages  and  of  the  dangers  which  are 
created  by  this  reenforcement  of  suggestibility. 

But  with  normal  men  there  is  no  more  effective  cause  for 
increase  of  su^estibility  than  the  forming  of  a  mass  in  which 
every  one  sees  and  knows  that  all  the  others  share  his  fate,  have 
the  same  to  perform  and  to  enjoy  and  to  suffer.  The  children 
in  a  class,  the  laborers  in  a  factory,  the  voters  in  a  massmeeting, 
the  spectators  on  the  bleachers  at  a  game,  the  crowd  assembled 
at  a  fire  or  an  accident,  form  various  types  of  such  organized 
units  held  together  by  increased  suggestibility,  through  which 
every  single  member  is  liable  to  act  in  a  way  which  would  be  un- 
natural to  him  if  he  were  alone.  He  may  do  acts  or  say  things  or 
risk  dangers  which  he  would  fear  if  he  stood  by  himself.  He 
has  not  really  become  more  courageous,  but  his  increased  sug- 
gestibility makes  him  imitative  and  ready  to  do  what  the  others 
seem  willing  to  do  and  to  ignore  the  warning  voice  of  his 
reason  or  his  cowardice.  He  also  becomes  a  little  more  foolish 
than  he  would  be  in  isolation,  he  may  shout  words  or  indulge 
in  actions  which  would  appear  to  him  silly  or  inconsiderate  if 
he  were  alone;  but  the  crowd  consciousness  has  control  of  him; 
he  has  become  insensitive  to  the  opposing  voice  of  wisdom.  He 
laughs  where  he  would  never  laugh  alone;  he  runs  away  where 
his  normal  instincts  would  teach  him  to  hold  on;  he  gets 
discouraged  or  excited  where  the  cold  facts  would  not  warrant 
either.  The  mass  can  hold  his  mind  down  to  a  level  far 
below  its  true  nature  and  can  lift  it  up  to  a  height  which  it 
could  never  reach  unsupported. 

Among  all  lasting  conditions  of  human  life,  none  seems 
more  predisposed  to  create  this  increased  suggestibility  of  a 
mass  than  the  life  on  a  warship.  Every  man  on  board  feels 
how  his  fate  is  bound  up  with  that  of  all  the  others.  He 
knows  that  they  all  are  detached  for  months  and  years  from 
the  life  of  the  millions;  they  feel  the  same  pulse  of  the  engines; 
they  are  lifted  by  the  same  waves;  they  know  that  the  same 
danger  would  threaten  all  of  them.  The  individual  has  given 
up  a  part  of  his  possibilities.  If  the  hour  of  a  battle  were  to 
come,  every  man  knows  that  for  him  no  individual  rushing 
forward  is  possible,  as  for  the  soldiers  on  the  battlefield.  He 
cannot  escape  the  ship  which  carries  them  all  and  with  which 
they  all  will  sink  if  it  goes  to  the  bottom.  A  closer  union  of 
a  multitude  of  strangers  caimot  be  imagined;  the  suggestibility 

223 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

must,  therefore,  be  tremendously  increased,  and  that  means  that 
the  powers  of  the  man  are  reen forced  for  ^ood  or  for  evil, 
that  his  individual  resistance  to  the  imitative  impulses  is  de- 
creased, and  that  he  has  become  to  a  certain  degree  a  passive 
instrument  for  the  will  of  the  leader. 

This  suggestibility  of  the  social  group  which  composes  the 
crew  stands  in  an  especially  significant  relation  to  the  mental 
function  which,  after  all,  is  the  backbone  of  military  service — 
obedience.  Where  the  spirit  of  discipline  is  lacking,  the  military 
cause  is  lost.  There  never  has  been  a  victorious  navy  without 
obedience.  To  a  certain  degree  the  necessity  of  a  dogged  sub- 
mission to  the  order  has  in  the  most  modem  ship  become  still 
more  necessary  than  ever  before,  because  the  individual  man  is 
more  isolated  in  his  duties  than  in  former  times.  He  does  not 
know  what  is  going  on  in  the  battle;  he  does  not  see  the  others; 
he  cannot  understand  the  situation;  he  cannot  lose  a  moment  of 
time  to  find  out  what  is  going  on;  he  simply  has  to  obey  his 
orders  as  long  as  life  flicker^  in  his  soul.  He  cannot  even  be 
trained  for  his  obedience  in  the  hour  of  battle,  because  all 
training  and  all  exercises  and  all  maneuvers  necessarily  elimi- 
nate the  mental  factor  which  is  ultimately  the  most  important 
in  the  hour  of  the  real  fight,  the  emotion  of  fear.  Whether 
the  man  will  carry  out  the  movements  which  the  maneuver 
has  taught  when  the  cannons  not  only  are  thundering,  but  the 
balls  really  are  splintering  the  ship,  depends  upon  the  one 
decisive  question  of  whether  an  obedient  submission  to  the  order 
of  the  superior  has  become  an  instinct  for  his  mind.  .  .  . 

Miinsterberg  further  pointed  out  the  importance  of  mak- 
ing obedience  habitual  through  training,  so  that  eventually 
it  would  become  a  matter  of  course  instead  of  requiring 
excessive  effort: 

Yet  the  true  memiing  of  military  .discipline  would  be  entirely 
missed  if  automatic  obedience  were  considered  as  the  only  im- 
portant demand,  and  if  another,  postulate  were  neglected  which 
stands  in  every  respect  coordinstte,  the  demand  for  a  spirit  of 
initiative.  Without  this  spirit  the  fighter  would  become  a  slave, 
and  no  nation  can  rely  on  its  moral  slaves.  Initiative  does  not 
stand  in  a  psychological  contradiction  to  obedience.  On  the 
contrary,  even  the  training  in  obedience  demands  a  background 

224 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

of  initiative,  as  the  overcoming  of  the  resistance  will  be  success- 
ful only  if  every  single  act  of  submission  is  supported  by  a 
feeling  of  confidence  and  reliance  in  the  leader,  amd  this  reli- 
ance, however  much  it  may  result  from  the  imitative  crowd 
consciousness,  remains  ultimately  an  act  of  personality  and 
initiative. 

But  the  spontaneity  which  the  service  has  to  develop  in  every 
man  must  <2;o  far  beyond  this  mere  internal  free  option  for  a 
leader.  Tiie  commander  controls  a  well  disciplined  crew  only 
if  he  can  know  that  every  man  is  ready  to  give  orders  to  him- 
self in  the  spirit  of  the  whole  when  orders  from  above  are 
lacking.  Every  man  in  the  crew  must  be  able  and  must  be  con- 
scious of  his  ability  to  step  into  a  position  of  responsibility.  His 
intelligence  and  poWer  of  decision,  accordingly,  demand  as  much 
stimulation  as  his  habit  of  submission.  It  is  this  which  ennobles 
the  modern  navy  and  gives  to  it  values  far  beyond  those  of  a 
mere    medhanical    fighting-machine.  .  .  . 

In  regard  to  the  oflBcers,  Miinsterberg  emphasized  the 
necessity  of  giving  them  practical  exercises  in  which  the 
mental  actions  and  reactions  demanded  in  real  warfare 
may  be  displayed,  to  supplement  the  acquiring  of  knowl- 
edge. In  this  way  only  can  they  learn  to  master  a  complex 
situation,  which  is  more  than  a  knowledge  of  its  parts. 
Both  practice  and  knowledge  are  necessary ;  a  third  factor, 
however,  is  just  as  essential : 

But  there  is  no  calling,  high  or  humble,  in  which  an  emotional 
interest  does  not  give  force  and  meaning  to  the  knowledge 
and  abilities  of  the  man.  The  knowledge  and  the  ability  of  the 
naval  officer,  the  one  resulting  from  the  intellectual  functions 
of  his  mind,  the  other  from  the  volitional  powers  of  his  mind, 
would  indeed  be  deprived  of  their  real  efficiency  and  value 
unless  a  strong,  deep  stream  of  interest  fiowed  from  the  emotions 
of  his  mind.  .  .  . 


The  speaker  pointed  out  the  danger  in  the  way  of  the 
steam-yachtsman's*'  spirit,  the  spirit  of  ease  and  comfort 
and  sportsmanship  so  different,  though  the  difference  be 

225 


•(< 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

not  always  apparent,  from  the  true  and  rigorous  spirit 
of  naval  duty.  A  still  greater  danger  he  considered  a 
navy  man's  lurking  disbelief  in  the  justification  of  his 
calling. 

A  scholar  may  be  convinced  that  the  poet's  imagination  is  a 
noble  gift  for  the  artist;  and  yet  he  must  not  allow  himself  to  be 
carried  away  or  even  to  be  touched  by  this  longing  for  imagina- 
tive flight  when  he  is  in  the  path  of  scholarship.  The  minister 
may  be  convinced  that  there  is  high  value  in  the  materiaUstic 
work  of  the  naturalist;  and  yet  his  religious  attitude  must  not 
be  shaken  by  the  demand  for  a  godless  universe.  The  ideals 
of  the  artist  and  of  the  scholar  and  of  the  preacher,  of  the 
peace  reformer  and  of  the  warrior,  are  all  true  ideals,  are  each 
worthy  to  give  a  meaning  and  significance  to  the  life  which  is 

devoted  to  them.  •     •     j 

But  this  significance  and  this  meaning  ultimately  he  in  de- 
votion, and  the  deepest  value  is  therefore  lost  if  the  faithful 
beUef  in  any  one  of  these  ideals  is  choked  by  rival  ideals.  There 
is  no  fitness  to  win  without  unity  of  mind  and  certainty  of 
purpose. 

This  address  roused  enthusiastic  response  at  the  War 
College,  and  kindled  a  live  interest  in  the  receptive  minds 
of  the  officers  and  men. 

The  President  of  the  War  College  expressed  to  Miinster- 
berg  the  wish  of  the  College  that  he  address  it  again 
the  following  summer,  and  asked  the  psychologist's  advice 
on  certain  specific  problems  in  the  instruction  of  enlisted 

men. 

Tlfis  was  in  1913,  when  war  was  still  an  abstract  con- 
ception. If  a  corner  of  the  veil  over  the  pregnant  future 
could  have  been  lifted  only  for  a  moment  to  the  scholar's 
gaze,  how  the  irony  of  it  all  would  have  shot  through 
him  with  a  pang!  But  no  surmise  lurked  in  his  heart 
of  the  suffering  that  awaited  him  in  the  land  in  which 
he  had  contributed  with  enthusiasm  not  only  to  its  scholar- 
ship, literature,  and  education,  but  to  its  industrial  and 

226 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

national  life  and  finally  even  to  the  effectiveness  of  its 
armament. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  psychological  tests  whether 
actually  uped  in  the  practical  world  or  whether  merely  in- 
tended for  such  use,  all  emerged  from  within  the  four  walls 
of  the  laboratory.  The  experiments  for  applied  psy- 
chology, however,  represented  only  a  fraction  of  the  work 
done  in  the  Harvard  Laboratory,  where  it  was  never  in- 
tended that  the  inroad  of  the  youngest  science  should 
cause  neglect  of  the  purely  scientific  psychology.  Mean- 
while the  attendance  of  Miinsterberg's  yearly  half -course 
in  elementary  psychology  reached  the  number  of  425 
students. 

In  the  academic  year  1911-12  the  interests  of  psychology 
— even  apart  from  applied  psychology — did  not  allow 
Miinsterberg  to  stay  in  the  shade  of  the  Harvard  elms; 
it  was,  rather,  a  year  of  congresses.  In  the  Christmas 
vacation  he  attended  the  congress  of  the  Psychological 
Association  in  Washington. 

Besides  the  one  at  Washington,  there  was  another 
psychological  congress  that  Miinsterberg  was  eager  to 
attend.  This  met  in  April,  1912,  in  Berlin.  To  quote 
his  own  words  from  his  unfinished  reminiscences : 


I  got  the  program  of  the  Congress  one  afternoon,  and  saw  a 
paper  announced  in  it  which  interested  me;  one  hour  later 
President  Lowell  had  given  me  leave  of  absence  for  two  weeks, 
and  the  next  morning  I  sailed  from  New  York.  I  left  the  boat 
at  Plymouth,  rushed  through  England,  reached  Berlin  the  next 
afternoon  at  four,  heard  the  paper  at  half -past  four,  and  at 
five  I  took  part  in  the  discussion. 

He  never  regretted  this  little  holiday  trip  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment;  on  the  contrary,  he  often  looked  back 
on  it  with  a  special  pleasure,  because  he  had  found  it 
completely  worth  while.    For  Miinsterberg  was  a  gifted 

227 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

traveler,  and  with  the  faculty  for  concentration  which  he 
used  in  his  work,  he  found  a  keen  delight  in  packing 
as  many  valuable  impressions  as  possible  into  a  given 
short  time.  He  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  8,  8.  Fin- 
land, White  Staf  Line,  and  from  London  traveled  straight 
on  to  Berlin,  where  he  attended  the  Psychological  Congress 
from  April  12th  to  April  20th.  There,  much  to  their 
surprise,  he  met  his  German  colleagues  whom  he  knew 
well,  Stumpf,  Erdmann,  Kiilpe,  Stern,  Miiller,  and  others. 
At  a  banquet  for  the  members  of  the  Congress  held  in 
the  Zoological  Garden,  Miinsterberg  made  a  speech  in  the 
name  of  the  foreign  guests,  for  he  had  eome  as  the  psy- 
chologist from  Harvard.  On  April  21st  he  left  his  col- 
leagues for  a  day's  visit  to  his  brother  in  Danzig,  re- 
turned to  Berlin  on  the  22nd,  and  set  sail  in  the  best 
spirits  from  Bremen  for  New  York  and  his  duties  at  Har- 
vard. 

In  this  year,  devoted  so  largely  to  psychological  interests, 
Miinsterberg  nevertheless  was  called  upon  to  deliver 
numerous  addresses  on  non-scientific  occasions.  Among 
these  was  the  celebration  of  the  25th  anniversary  of  the 
University  Settlements  in  New  York.  In  his  philosophical 
address  to  the  social  workers,  he  mentioned  the  peculiar 
fitness  of  settlement  workers  for  influencing  the  vocational 
guidance  of  boys  and  girls.  He  ended  the  talk  with  these 
words : 


You  work  with  all  the  means  of  science  and  knowledge  and 
yet  in  the  center  of  your  work  stands  an  enthusiastic  belief  and 
a  thorough  reliance  in  the  value  of  your  purposes.  Those  who 
mold  the  children  of  the  tenements  into  American  citizens  may 
calculate  neatly  how  the  different  racial  elements  bring  differ- 
ent mental  dispositions  and  what  mental  influences  are  necessary 
to  secure  certain  mental  changes.  But  you  do  much  better. 
You  do  not  ask  where  they  come  from  but  where  they  ought  to 
go.  You  do  not  ask  what  the  mental  equipment  is,  but  what 
ideals  ought  to   fill  their  hearts.    You   make  them   believe   in 

228 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

democratic  responsibility  because  you  make  them  feel  that  you 
yourselves  beUeve  in  it.  You  are  convinced  that  to  be  an 
American  does  not  mean  to  have  certain  racial  mental  qualities, 
but  to  be  devoted  to  certain  lasting  ideals,  and  when  you  in- 
spire the  youth  of  your  neighborhood  with  the  belief  in  beauty 
and  morality  and  civic  decency,  you  may  use  all  the  means  of 
knowledge  to  secure  your  ends,  but  you  are  powerful  because 
you  hold  those  ends  firm  in  your  own  enthusiastic  belief.  What- 
ever modem  knowledge  supplies  is  put  into  the  service  of  the 
settlements,  but  their  ends  are  chosen  through  free  will  and 
through  moral  consciousness. 

The  real  strength  of  their  work  lies  in  the  belief  in  the  living 
relation  of  man  to  man.  Their  neighborhood  work  would  be  in 
vain  if  it  were  done  only  after  psychological  prescriptions. 
It  lives  and  is  a  blessing  because  it  is  informed  and  molded 
by  the  moral  belief  in  ideals  and  by  the  human  belief  in  the 
neighbor.  The  work  which  you  are  doing  with  the  help  of 
hygiene,  of  biology,  of  economics,  and  in  the  future  perhaps 
with  the  help  of  psychology,  belongs  in  the  realm  of  causes 
and  effects  which  are  embedded  in  the  span  of  time  and  in 
that  realm  we  may  fittingly  and  gladly  celebrate  the  anniver- 
saries. But  the  work  which  is  done  from  man  to  man,  carried 
on  by  belief  in  values  and  ideals  is  not  bound  up  with  cause 
and  effect,  and  cannot  be  measured  by  the  months  and  years; 
it  is  work  done  in  the  spirit  of  eternity. 

Almost  all  of  Miinsterberg 's  addresses  were  extemporan- 
eous; his  scientific  lectures  he  never  wrote  out  before- 
hand, neither  did  he  use  notes  on  the  lecture  platform. 
Miinsterberg  did  not,  however,  attend  official  functions 
only  when  he  was  the  speaker.  He  went  to  New  York, 
for  instance,  to  be  present  at  a  dinner  given  in  honor  of 
William  Dean  Howells  on  his  seventy-fifth  birthday;  for 
the  psychologist  was  a  true  admirer  of  Howells  and  liked 
to  remember  the  pleasure  he  felt  on  first  reading  The  Rise 
of  Silas  Lapham, 

From  his  various  journeys,  Miinsterberg  always  returned 
to  his  family  with  a  sense  of  content  to  be  at  home  again. 
He  delighted  in  telling  about  his  experiences  and  to  bring 

229 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


back  to  the  academic  town  a  pocketful,  as  it  were,  of 
little  observations  from  the  West  or  from  the  metropolis. 

During  his  regular  life  in  Cambridge,  Miinsterberg 's 
days,  except  for  the  breaks  made  by  his  lectures  and  his 
Thursday  afternoon  seminary  class  in  Radcliffe  College, 
were  spent  at  his  room  in  Emerson  Hall.  There  he 
directed  the  work  in  the  Laboratory,  and  students  could 
at  any  time  come  in  and  consult  him.  There  he  was 
accessible,  too,  between  ten  and  one,  to  any  one  from  any- 
where who  wanted  to  ask  his  counsel,  from  a  colleague 
who  desired  his  cooperation  in  some  new  scientific  enter- 
prise to  some  ** down-and-out"  who  longed  to  be  helped 
out  of  his  ** slough  of  despond.'*  The  less  frequently  in- 
terrupted hours  in  the  laboratory — and  he  counted  usually 
on  a  fairly  unbroken  afternoon — were  spent  in  steady  dicta- 
tion to  his  still  devoted  secretary.  Miss  Wilkins. 

Most  of  Miinsterberg 's  evenings  at  home  were  passed 
in  his  genial  study,  in  his  big  armchair  with  an  array  of 
books  and  papers  spread  out  on  a  lap-board  that  lay  on 
the  arms  of  his  chair — a  device  that  allowed  him  to  work 
in*  a  relaxed  position.  His  study  was  always  shared  by  his 
wife,  often,  particularly  on  Sunday  evenings,  by  the 
whole  family.  In  these  later  years  Miinsterberg  rarely 
gave  up  his  evenings  at  home  for  social  pleasures,  unless 
he  could  promise  himself  hours  of  real  stimulus.  As 
soon  as  he  was  at  a  dinner  or  reception,  however,  he 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  event  with  the  same  whole- 
heartedness  with  which  he  gave  an  address  or  conducted 
an  experiment. 

The  social  life  in  the  academic  circles  of  Cambridge 
had  in  later  years  become  somewhat  subdued.  The  reason 
for  this  was  not  apparent,  except  that  many  of  the  older 
distinguished,  genial  men  who,  with  their  wives,  had  led 
in  hospitality  and  had  given  to  the  society  of  the  college 
town  its  peculiar  flavor  of  intellectual  communism — men 

230 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 


like  Professor  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  Professor  Shaler,  and 
Professor  Goodwin — had  been  called  away  by  death.  Some 
newer  ties,  however,  enriched  Miinsterberg 's  social  life, 
conspicuous  among  them  his  intercourse  with  Professor 
George  Foote  Moore,  the  historian  and  theologian. 

Miinsterberg  and  his  wife,  moreover,  continued  their 
habit  of  welcoming  the  newcomer,  whether  colleague, 
student  or  stranger,  who  promised  to  offer  some  new  point- 
of-view  or  contact  with  some  new  sphere  of  interest.  The 
advanced  students  of  the  Psychological  Laboratory  and 
of  the  seminary  met  in  the  professor's  house,  together  with 
some  of  their  teachers,  in  the  old  way  at  informal  smokers. 
Individual  students  were  invited  to  dinner  in  small  groups, 
and  occasionally  those  who  were  far  from  home  gathered 
round  the  Thanksgiving  turkey. 

Among  the  foreign  guests,  it  was  a  special  pleasure  for 
Miinsterberg  to  welcome  his  old  friend,  the  philosopher 
Paul  Hensel,  the  genial  and  brilliant  interpreter  of  Swift 
and  Carlyle.  Poets,  indeed,  artists  of  all  kinds,  were  es- 
pecially welcome  in  the  house  of  the  scholar  within  its 
book-lined  walls.  Maude  Adams  had  been  entertained 
there  a  few  years  before;  and  this  year  its  door  was  opened 
to  an  actress  of  a  very  different  appeal  and  temperament, 
who  had  tried  to  rouse  the  scientist's  interest  in  the 
psychological  aspect  of  a  new  French  comedy  in  which 
she  was  acting — ^the  piquant  and  passionate  Russian,  Nazim- 
ova. 

When  the  academic  season  drew  to  a  close,  Miinsterberg 
and  his  family  were  once  more  making  cheerful  prepara- 
tions for  a  summer  in  Europe.  Although  it  was  an  un- 
written law  for  them  not  to  travel  abroad  oftener  than 
every  two  years,  and  although  they  had  already  spent  the 
two  preceding  summers  in  Europe,  nevertheless  they  had  a 
good  excuse  for  another  visit  in  the  summer  of  1912. 
For  in  August  of  that  year  Hugo  and  his  wife  wanted  to 

231 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


celebrate  their  silver  wedding  in  the  same  old  house  in 
which  they  were  married. 

Shortly  before  he  sailed,  on  the  night  of  the  first  of 
June,  when  Miinsterberg  was  approaching  his  house — ^he 
had  just  taken  his  family  to  the  moving  pictures  of 
Ramy's  hunt  in  Africa,  which  had  a  particular  charm  for 
him — he  was  surprised  by  a  burst  of  cheering.  By  moon- 
light and  the  faint  illumination  of  the  street  lantern  on 
Ware  Street,  he  then  discerned  a  host  of  college  boys— the 
men  from  his  large  lecture  class— who  gave  him  an  ovation 
not  only  because  it  was  the  night  of  his  birthday,  but 
because,  at  the  end  of  this  college  year,  he  had  completed 
twenty-five  years  of  academic  work. 

With  the  cheers  of  the  college  boys  still  ringing  in  his 
mind,  Miinsterberg  soon  embarked  for  Europe,  in  the 
most  sanguine  spirits,  never  surmising  that  this  was  des- 
tined to  be  his  last  visit. 

The  voyage  on  the  Victoria  Luise  was  not  only  cheerful, 
but  jolly.  A  number  of  friends,  mostly  young  or  youth- 
ful people,  were  on  board  and  the  afternoons  and  evenings 
on  the  perfectly  equipped  steamer,  with  its  swimming- 
tank  and  ballroom,  passed  with  much  merriment.  Only 
on  ocean  voyages — and,  to  be  sure,  during  his  cures  at 
European  watering  places — did  Miinsterberg  allow  his 
mind  to  relax.  Not  that  he  played  cards  or  sought  new 
acquaintances  in  the  smoking  room.  To  lie  on  the 
steamer-chair  with  a  novel  or  scientific  book,  to  watch 
the  horizon  from  the  upper  deck,  and  then  to  enjoy  a 
graceful  tea  hour  with  his  family  and  some  sprightly  lady 
or  entertaining  youth — a  little  music,  a  little  banter,  and  a 
satisfied  return  to  his  book — that  was  all  the  relaxation  he 
desired.  Once  or  twice  he  was  inveigled  to  try  his  long 
rusty  skill  at  the  game  of  his  youth — the  laborious  pastime 
of  scholars,  chess. 

Once  back  in  the  whirlpool  of  interests  at  Berlin,  in- 

232 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 


numerable  ties  demanded  Miinsterberg 's  attention.  Th« 
young  staff  of  the  America-Institute  eagerly  looked  to 
its  founder  for  further  guidance ;  colleagues,  friends,  and 
relatives  pressed  him  with  their  hospitality.  And  yet  he 
worked  in  his  brother 's  study  with  two  secretaries,  one  for 
the  morning,  one  for  the  afternoon,  as  persistently  as  if 
he  had  been  in  his  room  at  Emerson  Hall.  From  June 
17th  to  July  8th  the  greatest  part  of  his  days  were  thus 
devoted  to  intense  work  and  accordingly,  at  the  time  set 
by  himself,  he  had  completed  his  German  book  on  applied 
psychology,  Psychologic  und  Wirtschaftslehen,  the  equiva- 
lent of  Psychology  and  Industrial  Efficiency,  which  he 
wrote  the  following  autumn. 

After  these  diligent  weeks  of  production,  Miinsterberg 
realized  that  the  time  had  come  for  a  real  vacation,  and 
on  July  11th,  after  his  family  had  already  migrated  south- 
ward, he  left  his  brother's  house  for  the  familiar  promen- 
ades and  wholesome  springs  of  Kissingen  where,  once  more, 
he  found  rest  in  almost  complete  solitude. 

Miinsterberg  left  Kissingen  on  the  fourth  of  August, 
met  his  wife  and  with  her  journeyed  to  the  old  home  of 
her  mother.  On  the  seventh  of  August  Miinsterberg  and 
his  wife  celebrated  their  silver  wedding  in  the  same  room 
in  which  they  had  been  married  twenty-five  years  before. 
The  same  old  family  paintings  of  *'* vanished  ladies'' 
looked  down  at  them,  the  same  old  piano  on  which  Mrs. 
Miinsterberg 's  mother  had  played  before  her  hands  grew 
stiff,  the  same  old-fashioned  sewing  table  and  quaint  vases 
and  embroideries  surrounded  them  now  as  on  that  seventh 
of  August  of  their  youth.  Again  a  flood  of  summer  flowers, 
fresh  from  the  garden,  graced  and  rejuvenated  the  old 
room.  The  celebrant  pair  spent  the  fete  day  in  idyllic 
quiet,  amid  their  family,  with  letters  and  gifts,  with  happy 
reminiscences  and  thankfulness  for  the  blessings  that  a 
quarter  century  had  brought. 

233 


F 


HUGO  MUNSTEEBERG 

For  the  end  of  the  summer,  Miinsterberg  carefully  and 
minutely  planned  out  a  **silver-wedding  journey'*  in  which, 
to  be  sure,  his  daughters  were  not  to  be  left  behind.  As 
has  been  said  before,  Miinsterberg  was  a  gifted  traveler, 
and  knew  how  to  choose  the  essential  beauties  of  a  region 
as  well  as  how  to  fit  as  many  as  possible  of  the  most 
valuable  impressions  into  a  given  time.  He  had,  moreover, 
the  rare  gift  of  enjoying  a  journey  completely.  No  one 
else  with  whom  he  traveled  had  his  peculiar  capacity  for 
sinking  altDgether  into  the  contemplation  of  a  beautiful 
landscape,  picture,  or  statue;  no  one  else  could  be  as  ob- 
livious of  minor  disturbances,  of  non-essentials  in  the 
face  of  great  beauty.  Where  others  felt  pleasure  or  in- 
terest, he  felt  a  joy  that  sprang  from  the  depth  of  his 

being. 

Upon  this  particular  journey,  the  highlands  surrounding 
Salzburg  were  a  revelation  to  Miinsterberg.  One  of  the 
Humboldts  once  said  that  the  landscapes  about  Salzburg, 
Naples,  and  Constantinople  were  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
world ;  to  Miinsterberg  who  had  never  seen  Constantinople 
and  who  was  to  see  Naples  in  three  weeks  for  the  first 
time,  the  beauty  of  Salzburg  made  a  deep  impression.  The 
ideal  union  of  landscape  and  architecture,  the  same  charm 
that  makes  Heidelburg  the  Mecca  of  romanticists,  is  even 
more  perfectly  represented  by  Salzburg.  The  mediaeval 
castle  that  towers  above  the  historic  gabled  town  seems 
to  have  grown  inevitably  out  of  the  gray  rocks  of  the 
mountain  it  crowns,  and  the  oak  woods  that  gird  it  are  as 
intrinsic  parts  of  the  gray  romantic  pile  as  any  pinnacle 
or  buttress.  Miinsterberg  roamed  through  the  ancient 
halls  of  the  castle  and  admired,  from  the  top  of  a  mountain, 
the  dazzling  ring  of  snow  mountains  in  their  austere 
majesty.  By  way  of  contrast,  he  enjoyed  the  delicate, 
artificial  gardens  of  a  pampered  prince  of  the  *'roccoco*' 
age.    But  what  appealed  most  profoundly  to  his  sense  of 

234 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

beauty  was  the  day  at  Berchtesgaden  when  he  glided  over 
the  magic  ** King's  Lake'' — that  shadowy,  somber  water 
walled  in  by  steep>  rocky,  almost  perpendicular  mountain 
sides — the  most  romantic  mountain  lake  in  all  that  rugged 
solitude. 

At  Innsbruck,  the  home  of  Andreas  Hofer,  the  historic 
charm  appealed  to  Miinsterberg  most  strongly,  for,  though 
a  scientist  and  a  philosopher,  he  had  to  a  remarkable 
degree  the  **historic-mindedness"  that  enables  one  to 
transpose  one's  own  point  of  view  into  the  spirit  of  a 
bygone  age.  Through  the  stern,  romantic  scenery  of  the 
Tirol,  Miinsterberg,  with  his  family,  sped  south  to  the 
sunny,  smiling  landscape  of  Switzerland,  to  the  village  of 
Wesen  on  the  Walensee,  not  far  from  Zurich.  Once  before, 
when  Miinsterberg  was  a  young  unmarried  student,  he  had 
passed  by  this  lovely  lake  and  had  then  said  to  himself: 
**Here  I  should  like  to  bring  my  future  wife  some  day!" 
And  so  he  had  chosen  this  blessed  spot  as  an  ideal  resting 
place  between  the  rugged  northern  and  the  languid  Italian 
highlands.  Here  he  took  his  pleasure  in  the  exquisite 
light  blue  lake  with  the  ring  of  sunny  green  mountains 
round  about  and  the  snow  mountains  beyond,  gleaming 
like  crystal  against  the  cloudless  sky. 

At  Lugano,  finally,  as  he  gazed  leisurely  at  the  olive- 
tinted  lake,  the  languid  lines  of  the  mountain  slopes,  the 
white  villas  and  serene  gardens  with  black  southern  pine 
end  slender  cypress  trees,  his  sense  of  beauty  found  com- 
plete satisfaction.  The  stern  romantic  beauty  of  the  north- 
em  ** King's  Lake,"  and  the  sunny  charm  of  the  blue  lake 
in  Switzerland  were  rivaled,  if  not  surpassed;  for  later 
Miinsterberg  said  to  his  family,  after  deliberate  reflection : 
"I  am  not  sure  but  that  Lugano  was  the  most  beautiful 
of  all!"  On  the  pleasure  boat  in  which  they  crossed  the 
lake  to  the  picturesque  Italian  village,  Porlezza,  the 
philosopher  kept  in  his  pocket  a  little  slender  volume  qi 

235 


^ 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

verse  by  his  favorite  modern  poet,  the  Austrian,  Rilke, 
which  he  took  out  and  read  at  intervals  between  gazing 
at  the  narcotic  landscape. 

Both  Hugo's  brothers,  Oskar  and  Otto,  planned  to  sail 
with  him  and  his  family  to  America.  For  Oskar,  a  busi- 
ness trip  to  America  was  nothing  new ;  for  Otto,  how- 
ever, whose  duties  held  him  in  Europe,  this  first  visit  to 
America  was  to  be  the  long  postponed  fulfillment  of  a 
cherished  desire.  His  immediate  excuse  for  making  the 
visit  at  this  time  was  the  International  Congress  of  Cham- 
bers of  Commerce  held  in  Boston,  to  which  he  was  a  dele- 
gate; his  real  purpose  was  to  become  acquainted  at  first 
hand  with  the  American  life  of  his  kin  and  to  see  their 

distant  home. 

On  the  train  to  Genoa  the  oldest  brother  joined  the 
others  and  together  they  wandered  through  the  swarm- 
ing Italian  streets  and  the  old  palaces,  and  finally  em- 
barked on  the  8,  S.  Molike,  on  a  dazzling  Italian  day 
when  the  sea  wore  its  deepest,  most  tropical  blue.  The 
one  day  on  land  allowed  the  passengers  at  Naples  was 
a  day  after  Hugo's  heart.  The  classic  statues  at  the 
Museum,  the  magic  of  Vesuvius  and  the  Bay,  the  silent 
eloquence  of  Pompeii's  ruddy  ruins— for  all  these  wonders, 
accepted  by  countless  Baedeker  tourists  as  their  due  or 
even  as  an  obligation,  Hugo  Miinsterberg  felt  a  profound 
awe  and  the  simple  gratitude  of  a  mind  that,  however 
productive  it  may  be,  never  ceases  to  learn  and  never  loses 
its  genius  for  enthusiasm. 

The  long  voyage  to  New  York  was  a  period  of  unusual 
happiness.  To  spend  restful  sunny  days,  carefree,  to  look 
back  on  hours  of  great  beauty  and  forward  to  a  year  of 
brisk  work— all  this  put  him  into  the  most  cheerful  spirits. 
An  entertaining  acquaintance,  a  quixotic  globe-trotter  who 
had  taken  part  in  one  of  Roosevelt's  African  expeditions, 
adorned  the  evenings  in  the  smoking-room  with  absorb- 

236 


BACK  AT  HARVARD 

ing  yarns.  But  more  significant  was  a  budding  inter- 
national romance.  Oskar  Miinsterberg,  the  youngest  of 
the  brothers  and  the  only  bachelor  among  them,  loved  at 
first  sight  a  young  American  girl,  a  graduate  of  Vassar 
College,  to  whom  he  easily  obtained  an  introduction.  The 
friendship  begun  on  the  steamer  was  continued  €if ter  land- 
ing, and  was  destined  to  end  in  a  happy  marriage. 

Back  in  Cambridge,  Miinsterberg  found  much  happi- 
ness in  seeing  his  oldest  brother  in  his  house  for  the  first 
time.  The  International  Congress  of  the  Chambers  of 
Commerce  was  a  brilliant  affair  honored  by  the  presence 
of  President  Taft.  Otto  Miinsterberg  enjoyed  the  hospi- 
tality of  Boston  during  the  days  of  the  Congress  and 
praised  it  with  enthusiasm  in  one  of  a  series  of  sketches 
that  appeared  later  in  the  form  of  a  booklet  called  *' Im- 
pressions of  America."  He  gave  an  address  as  a  delegate 
to  the  Congress  at  one  of  the  official  meetings,  for,  thanks 
to  his  annual  journeys  to  England,  he  spoke  English 
fluently.  The  three  brothers  were  united  for  a  few  har- 
monious days,  never  surmising  that  such  a  reunion  was 
never  to  occur  again.  On  Thanksgiving  Day,  in  the  Hotel 
Plaza  in  New  York,  Oskar  Miinsterberg  and  Helen  Rice, 
the  lady  of  the  steamer,  became  engaged.  This  romance 
delighted  Hugo,  for  it  meant  one  more  significant  link  in 
the  chain  that  bound  together,  in  his  own  life,  the  land 
of  his  birth  and  the  land  of  his  activity.  ^ 

iFor  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chap- 
ter see  Appendix,  pages  418-424. 


p 


CHAPTER  XIII 

IN  SUNUGHT 
(October,  1912— August,  1914) 

The  season  of  1912-1913  was  in  the  main  devoted  to  aca- 
demic work  and  constant  literary  production,  with  con- 
tinued activities  in  the  interest  of  applied  psychology.  The 
academic  rhythm  was  broken,  now  and  then,  by  journeys  to 
the  Middle  West,  to  Washington,  to  New  York,  and  by  the 
pleasures  of  hospitality. 

In  Emerson  Hall,  some  external  changes  had  taken  place. 
Room  for  laboratory  experiments  had  been  found  insuffi- 
cient, especially  since  the  Psychological  Department  had 
been  enlarged  to  include  educational  psychology.  To  make 
room  for  this  new  field,  therefore,  the  fourth  floor  of  Emer- 
son Hall  had  been  rebuilt  and  fitted  out  entirely  for  experi- 
mental work  on  animal  psychology  under  the  direction  of 
Professor  Yerkes ;  it  became,  accordingly,  the  psychological 
zoo  of  Emerson  Hall. 

The  more  and  more  apparent  demand  for  a  larger  lec- 
ture hall  in  Emerson  Hall,  however,  had  not  been  satisfied. 
In  Miinsterberg  's  elementary  psychology  course  there  were 
426  men,  too  many  for  any  of  the  rooms  in  Emerson  Hall, 
so  that  the  lectures  were  held  in  the  large  New  Lecture  Hall, 
a  separate  building,  and  the  apparatus  used  for  demon- 
strations had  to  be  carried  across  the  street. 

This  is  not  the  place  for  a  scientific  exposition  of  the  ex- 
periments made  at  the  Harvard  Psychological  Laboratory. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  attitude  of  the  research  students 
was  one  of  conscientious  attention  to  the  individual  dif- 
ferences of  subjects  in  introspection  and  to  the  rich  variety 
of  results  gained,  whether  these  results  were  expected  or 

238 


IN  SUNLIGHT 

baffling;  further,  that  there  was  no  insistence  on  generaliza- 
tion, unless  it  was  perfectly  warranted  by  data,  and  then 
only  with  an  accurate  statement  of  exceptions  to  rules. 
Merely  as  an  example  of  the  devotion  to  detail  necessary  to 
gain  even  the  smallest  substantial  result  in  experimenting, 
the  following  may  be  cited  from  the  conclusion  a  stu- 
dent's thesis  on  **The  Psycho-physiological  Effect  of  the 
Elements  of  Speech  in  Relation  to  Poetry'': 

Eight  years  of  work  culminate  in  the  results  we  have  brought 
forward,  in  which  years  eighteen  thousand  Hues  of  poetry  were 
phonetically  measured  and  tabulated,  involving  the  enumeration 
of  nearly  540,000  sounds;  the  measurements  of  the  records  ob- 
tained in  the  laboratory  involved  nearly  300,000  bits  of  data; 
the  computation  of  the  mean,  the  mean  variation,  and  the  range 
for  all  the  experiments  and  the  making  of  rank  lists  brings  the 
total  number  of  computations  to  more  than  a  million. 

Miinsterberg  welcomed  eagerly  the  cooperation  of  other 
institutions  with  the  Harvard  laboratory.  Dr.  Langfeld, 
for  instance,  helped  with  studies  carried  on  in  the  Nutri- 
tion Laboratory  on  the  psychophysiological  effects  of  pro- 
longed fasting.  It  was  of  decided  significance  that  Pro- 
fessor Yerkes  was  appointed  psychologist  to  the  Psycho- 
pathic Hospital  in  Boston,  not  because  the  hospital  of- 
fered opportunity  for  specialized  research,  but  because  it 
was  a  wholesome  sign  of  the  close  relation  between  the 
psychological  workshop  and  the  world's  work. 

In  the  Harvard  curriculum,  psychology  experienced  a 
further  coming  of  age,  in  regard  to  a  technical  point :  in 
the  year  1912-1913  the  Department  of  Philosophy  was 
turned  into  the  Department  of  Philosophy  and  Psychology, 
and  by  this  transformation  psychology  won  the  freedom 
under  which  doctor  examinations  could  be  concentrated 
on  psychology  proper,  no  longer  embedded  in  general 
philosophy.    Miinsterberg 's  satisfaction  with  this  new  in- 

239 


¥ 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

dependence  of  his  science  in  the  administrative  scheme  was, 
however,  to  quote  his  own  words,  *'in  no  way  an  expression 
of  the  wish  to  draw  a  sharper  demarcation  line  between 
philosophy  and  psychology,  and  the  Psychological  Labora- 
tory continues  to  be  conducted  in  the  spirit  of  a  firm  belief 
that  the  psychologist  needs  a  philosophical  background." 
It  was  not  only  in  this  spirit  of  the  psychologist  who 
looks  with  filial  reverence  upon  ** divine  philosophy,''  but 
with  the  kindred  sense  of  one  who  is  and  always  has  been 
himself  a  philosopher  that  Hugo  Miinsterberg  welcomed 
as  Exchange  Professor  to  Harvard  the  venerable  and  re- 
nowned scholar,  Rudolf  Eucken.  Thus  Miinsterberg 
opened  his  speech  at  the  meeting  of  the  Philosophical  Club 
in  honor  of  the  guest: 

...  I  am  grateful  for  this  visit  not  only  as  man,  hut  as 
philosopher.  To  be  sure  most  of  you  of  the  younger  set  look 
on  me  only  as  a  psychologist  whose  professional  right  is  only 
to  be  a  specialist  and  who  therefore  ought  not  to  bother  the  world 
with  his  philosophical  creed.  But  I  have  never  denied  that  I 
stick  to  the  old-fashioned  belief  that  the  psychologist  needs  a 
philosophical  background  and  that  my  philosophy  is  thoroughly 
idealistic.  This  is  not  the  trend  of  our  day.  Many  another  phil- 
osophical ism  tinkles  merrily  in  our  ears.  The  idealist  has  not 
the  slightest  objection  to  such  varieties  of  the  philosophical  tem- 
perament, as  he  knows  too  well  that  all  those  partial  truths  will 
find  their  ultimate  place  in  the  embracing  system  of  idealism, 
which  can  hold  them  all  and  can  harmonize  them  all.  And  yet 
it  is  delightful  at  least  sometimes  to  hear  the  real  voice  of  ideal- 
ism itself.  Idealism  is  the  keynote  of  those  eloquent  speeches 
which  Professor  Eucken  has  brought  to  the  students  and  to  the 
community. 

In  the  season  of  1913-1914  the  Harvard  Philosophical 
Department  received  into  its  household  the  Japanese  Ex- 
change Professor,  Anesaki,  with  whom  Miinsterberg  came 
to  be  on  very  pleasant  terms.  Another  visiting  philosopher 
was  Professor  Alois  Riehl,  who,  at  the  beginning  of  Miin- 

240 


IN  SUNLIGHT 

sterberg's  career,  had  been  at  the  head  of  the  Philosophical 
Department  in  Freiburg.  At  a  philosophical  dinner  Miin- 
sterberg began  his  speech  thus: 

Gentlemen:     There  seems  to  be  a  wonderful  preestablished 
harmony  in  our  university  system.    Whenever  the  visiting  com- 
mittee feels  ready  for  a  philosophical  celebration,  there  are  some 
philosophical  foreign  guests  on  the  spot  worthy  to  be  celebrated. 
Last  year  we  had  dear  old  Eucken  with  us,  and  this  year  philos- 
ophy comes  in  still  more  international  garb,  one  of  our  friends 
bringing  us  the  spirit  of  Japan,  and  the  other  bom  in  Germany, 
nursed  in  India,  trained  in  England,  teaching  in  Africa,  and 
stimulating  us  in  America.^    But  they  are  not  the  only  philoso- 
phers from  abroad.    We  are  looking  forward  to  Russell,  we  have 
just  listened  to  the  masterly  addresses  of  Riehl,  and  the  most 
marked  foreign  guests  before  in  the  university  were  probably 
Bergson  and  Boutroux.    No  other  department  can  boast  of  such 
a  foreign  court  of  honor.    It  seems  to  me  this  is  not  a  chance, 
I  should  even  say  that  this  predominance  of  philosophy  among 
the  guests  of  the  university  itself  reflects  light  on  the  meaning  of 
philosophy.    By  an  instinctive  selection  the  academic  world  seeks 
to  attract  those  foreigners  who  can  add  the  most  distinctive  con- 
tribution.    Why  do  we  not  expect  such  gain  from  a  mathema- 
tician or  a  chemist,  from  a  philologist  or  a  doctor  t    They  all 
would  be  able  to  bring  us  important  facts  and  to  distribute  a 
knowledge  which  might  be  a  full-fledged  addition  to  all  which 
we  have  in  our  circle.     The  universities  evidently  feel  that  such 
mere  additional  knowledge  and  such  supplementary  facts  are  not 
signiflcant,  and  that  mere  facts  and  mere  knowledge  are  better 
distributed  by  those  who  are  familiar  with  our  methods  and  ac- 
customed to  our  schemes.    They  discriminate  only  in  favor  of  the 
philosopher.     Does  this  not  indicate  that  philosophy  has  a  dif- 
ferent purpose,  that  it  does  not  give  account  of  existing  facts,  but 
moves  in  a  sphere  of  decisions  and  obligations,  in  a  sphere  in 
which  the  personal  attitude  is  the  last  resort?    Idealistic  phi- 
losophy has  always  taken  it  as  its  central  conviction  that  the 
kind  of  philosophy  you  have  depends  upon  the  kind  of  man  you 
are.    This  would  be  absurd  for  mathematics  or  chemistry.     The 
philosopher  of  a  foreign  land  brings  a  really  new  attitude.    He 
does  not  come  as  a  member  of  another  race.    That  would  draw 

1  This  was  a  reference  to  Professor  Alfred  Hoeml§  of  the  Harvard 
Philosophical  Department. 

241 


\ll 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

down  the  difference  to  the  level  of  mere  biology.  Then  the  dif- 
ference would  be  a  disturbance  rather  than  a  gain.  He  comes 
to  us  as  a  member  of  another  nation,  and  that  means  as  a  rep- 
resentative of  a  new  group  of  will  attitudes,  and  therefore  only 
he  can  bring  us  something  which  another  land  cannot  possibly 
have.  This  instinctive  preference  for  philosophers  as  academic 
guests  thus  strikes  me  as  a  wonderful  historic  plea  for  the  truth 
of  philosophic  idealism,  and  even  when  our  guests  are  realists, 
they  help  to  prove  by  their  very  coming  the  correctness  of  the 
idealistic  philosophy. 

Miinsterberg  was  made  a  delegate  from  Harvard  to  the 
opening  of  the  new  Princeton  Graduate  School.  This 
unique  institution,  which  was  to  represent  a  serene  com- 
munity of  men  devoted  to  the  ideals  of  scholarship,  undis- 
tracted  by  hurried  preparation  for  a  gainful  pursuit,  this 
Graduate  School  that  had  emerged  at  last  out  of  the  clouds 
of  stormy  debate,  Miinsterberg  greeted  with  these  words: 

Mr.  PREsroENT:  Gentlemen:  To  come  to  beautiful  Prince- 
ton in  these  days  of  rejoicing  stirs  in  my  mind  most  strongly 
the  feeling  of  contrast  between  to-day  and  the  past,  as  the 
campus  of  Princeton  was  one  of  the  first  places  I  visited  when  I 
landed  in  the  new  world  more  than  a  score  of  years  ago. 


There  is  perhaps  no  land  on  the  globe  for  which  high  scholar- 
ship to-day  has  such  an  important  message,  far  more  important 
than  it  had  twenty-five  years  ago.  When  I  came  to  this  country, 
I  saw  a  nation  controlled  and  disciplined  by  two  powers  which 
are  not  without  inner  connection,  puritanism  and  capitalism.  The 
aristocracy  of  wealth  and  the  restraint  of  moral  tradition  gave  to 
the  nation  a  firm  inner  unity.  We  all  know  how  the  times  have 
changed.  Not  wealth  has  decreased,  but  the  belief  in  its  rights 
of  leadership,  and  the  forms  of  life  are  more  and  more  dictated 
by  the  anti-puritanic  Broadway.  The  people,  who  crush  the 
monopoUes  and  at  the  same  time  crave  tango  dances,  have  reached 
a  stage  at  which  the  old  leadership  has  lost  its  hold,  and  no  new 
leaders  are  in  sight,  unless  the  aristocracy  of  scholarship  is 
prepared  to  inspire  the  masses  with  new  ideals.    If  this  influence 

242 


IN  SUNLIGHT 

does  not  become  powerful,  our  culture  will  be  left  to  the  lower  in- 
stincts. We  all  know  how  easy  it  is  to  gain  a  million  readers  for 
a  magazine,  and  a  thousand  performances  for  a  play,  and  twenty 
thousand  students  for  a  university,  as  soon  as  we  appeal  to  the 
cheaper  and  more  trivial  longings.  But  America  cannot  rely  on 
an  intellectual  referendum  and  a  spiritual  recall. 

How  can  this  mastership  be  hoped  for  from  the  men  whose 
scholarly  work  is  nothing  but  work,  and  nothing  but  scholarly? 
Work,  efficient  work,  it  must  be,  but  it  ought  to  be  at  the  same 
time  joy  and  promise  and  fulfillment.  Scholarly,  thoroughly 
scholarly,  it  must  be,  but  it  ought  to  be  at  the  same  time  human 
and  inspiring  and  beautiful.  We  cannot  substitute  committees 
where  a  genius  is  needed:  we  cannot  recommend  scientific  man- 
agement for  culture,  if  devotion  and  belief  are  the  requisite.  A 
national  uplifting  can  be  hoped  for  only  from  men  who  know 
that  the  most  useful  and  the  most  practical  things  in  the  world 
are  the  abundance  and  the  luxury  of  the  overflow,  men  who  see 
the  small  things  small  and  the  large  things  large,  and  everything 
on  the  golden  background  of  eternal  values.  The  graduate  work 
in  this  country  stands  at  the  parting  of  the  ways.  It  may  be- 
come  more  and  more  the  domain  of  the  men  with  blinders,  the 
kind  of  men  who  would  plod  faithfully  through  any  task  and  who 
will  go  where  small  fellowships  drag  them.  Or  the  graduate  work 
may  expand  into  an  ideal  comradeship  of  high-minded  scholars 
who  take  their  task  as  a  mission,  who  feel  themselves  not  artisans, 
but  creators.  If  only  the  way  of  the  specialists  is  open,  the 
flabby  weaklings  would  choose  it,  but  the  men  of  vitality  would 
leave  it  in  order  to  rush  toward  law  and  industry  and  banking 
and  world  enterprises.  If  the  bom  leaders  of  the  nation  are 
ever  to  be  attracted,  we  must  show  them  a  way  which  demands 
lofty  courage  and  noble  strength.  The  type  of  men  is  the  alpha 
and  omega.  If  we  have  the  wrong  type,  the  scholar  will  play 
no  better  role  in  the  nation  than  the  poorly  paid  school  teacher 
plays.  If  we  have  the  right  type,  the  country  will  learn  to 
discriminate  between  them.  If  we  have  the  right  type,  the  scholar 
will  be  the  hero  and  the  leader.  And  if  he  ever  comes  to  that 
leadership  in  the  new  aristocracy  which  must  form  itself  out  of 
this  transition  period  of  to-day,  it  will  enrich  and  uplift  the  whole 
nation  and  will  reflect  new  luster  on  all  the  academic  institu- 
tions of  the  land.  The  youngest  as  well  as  the  oldest  will  re- 
ceive new  impulse.  The  youngest  may  speak  for  itself,  but  in 
the  name  of  the  oldest,  which  has  sent  me  here  to-night,  I  pledge 

243 


Ff 


HUGO  MIJNSTERBERG 

to  old  Princeton  heartfelt  thanks  for  its  courageous  choice  at  the 
parting  of  the  ways.  It  saw  the  way  of  the  feeble,  but  it  chose 
the  glorious  path  of  the  strong. 

In  order  not  to  lose  contact  with  colleagues  outside  of 
the  Harvard  precincts,  Miinsterberg  attended  various 
scientific  congresses.  At  the  Sociological  Congress  in 
December,  1912,  he  contributed  an  address  in  which  he 
pointed  out  the  urgent  need  of  the  help  that  only  experi- 
mental psychology  can  give  in  solving  problems  of  manu- 
facture, transportation,  and  commerce  and  especially  the 
employment  of  labor.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this 
address  was  held  in  the  same  month  in  which  Miinster- 
berg's  Vocation  and  Learning  appeared,  a  book  that  can- 
not aptly  be  called  a  treatise  on  vocational  guidance,  be- 
cause, as  will  be  seen  in  another  context,  it  is  itself  a 

vocational  guide. 

A  year  later,  from  December  29th  to  31st,  the  Association 
of  Philosophy  and  of  Psychology  met  at  New  Haven. 
Miinsterberg  attended  this  meeting,  and  especially  enjoyed 
a  luncheon  given  to  him  by  a  dozen  of  his  former  labo- 
ratory students,  now  his  colleagues,  who  had  all  assembled 

at  the  Congress. 

Miinsterberg 's  contribution  at  the  Congress  was  an  ad- 
dress in  which  he  opposed  the  prevalent  movement  to 
separate  psychology  from  philosophy,  for  he  never  lost 
his  broad  philosophical  point  of  view,  however  intricate 
the  pathways  of  his  special  science  had  come  to  be. 

At  a  Psychological  Congress,  in  the  spring  of  1913, 
which  was  held  in  Middletown,  Connecticut,  Miinsterberg 
gave  an  account  of  his  observations  on  the  phenomenal 
child,  Beulah  Miller,  and  the  explanatory  conclusions  that 
he  had  drawn  from  this  study.  Three  times  he  had 
journeyed  to  her  pastoral  home  in  the  little  town  of  Warren, 
Rhode  Island.     There,  with  pockets  full  of  candy,  he  had 

244 


IN  SUNLIGHT 

come  to  be  a  welcome  guest  of  little  Beulah,  of  her  twelve- 
year  old  sister  Gladys,  and  of  her  sensible,  warm-hearted 
mother,  and  felt  quite  at  home  in  the  rustic  kitchen  where 
the  cat  purred  and,  now  and  then,  the  pet  lamb  sauntered 
in  from  the  pasture. 

Beulah  Miller,  a  simple  and  quite  artless  village  child, 
was  said  to  be  endowed  with  marvelous  powers  of  mind- 
reading;  and  after  this  gift  had  once  been  discovered 
by  press  reporters,  newspaper  rumors  raised  it  to  the 
fabulous,  asserting  that  Beulah,  by  some  mystic  power, 
could  give  names  or  dates  or  facts  not  known  to  any  one 
in  her  presence.  It  was  the  danger  of  poison  for  the 
public  mind  from  pseudo-scientific  occultism  that  brought 
Miinsterberg  to  Warren,  Rhode  Island,  fully  as  much  as 
purely  psychological  interest  in  the  case.  Indeed,  he  came 
armed  in  the  defense  of  his  science,  just  as  he  had  set  out 
to  Madame  Eusapia  Palladino's  murky,  occult  seances. 
But  here,  in  contrast  to  the  squalor,  the  atmosphere  of 
fraud  and  the  ** intellectual  underworld'*  in  which  the 
medium  sat  enthroned,  he  found  a  country  idyll  and  an 
honest,  sincere  family  with  no  motives  of  gain.  On  ac- 
count of  this  very  absence  of  deceit,  the  case  was  all  the 
more  baffling  and,  to  put  the  dilemma  of  psychology  into 
Miinsterberg 's  own  words:  **If  Beulah  Miller's  little 
hands  are  to  set  the  torch  to  the  whole  pile  of  our  knowl- 
edge, we  ought  first  to  be  perfectly  sure  that  there  is  really 
nothing  worth  saving.  We  cannot  accept  the  theory  of 
the  apostles  of  mind-reading  until  we  know  surely  that 
Beulah  Miller  can  receive  communications  which  cannot 
possibly  be  explained  with  the  means  of  science.'' 

Beulah 's  strange  power  was  noticed  first  when  the  Miller 
family  played  *'01d  Maid,"  and  the  child  always  knew 
where  the  queen  was  to  be  found;  then  experiments 
with  cards  showed  that  Beulah  could  tell  on  which  ones 
her  mother  and  sister  had  fixed  their  minds.    The  child's 

245 


\ii 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

power  became  known  to  her  friends,  and  Sunday-scliool 
children  reported  it  to  the  minister  of  the  town,  who  ac- 
cordingly visited  Beulah  and  by  his  own  experiments  was 
convinced  of  her  gift  for  mind-reading.  Through  the 
minister,  Reverend  H.  W.  Watjen  and  his  friend,  Judge 
Mason,  a  resident  of  Warren  for  over  thirty  years,  the 
public  came  to  know  of  Beulah 's  wonders  and  these  two 
gentlemen  asked  the  Harvard  psychologist  to  investigate 
the  case. 

With  all  the  accuracy  of  scientific  methods,  hitherto  not 
employed  by  the  laymen  who  had  marveled  at  Beulah, 
Miinsterberg  took  notes  on  all  that  he  observed.  He  found, 
indeed,  that  while  he  was  sitting  with  the  mother  and 
sister  on  one  side  of  the  room  and  Beulah  on  the  other, 
the  child  could  tell  correctly  what  playing-card  the  other 
three  were  looking  at.  Or  when  these  others  were  looking 
at  three  letters  of  the  alphabet,  each  on  a  cardboard  square, 
drawn  at  random  and  put  into  the  cover  of  a  box,  Beulah, 
sitting  beside  the  rest,  but  gazing  at  the  ceiling,  could 
guess  the  right  letters,  sometimes  after  one  or  two,  but 
never  after  more  than  two,  wrong  attempts.  She  was 
just  as  successful  in  guessing  words  at  which  the  others 
looked,  and  always  spelled  them  out,  letter  by  letter. 

Astounding  though  these  feats  were,  they  did  not 
threaten  to  overthrow  the  whole  structure  of  science.  This 
was  proved  by  certain  facts  definitely  observed.  One  of 
these  was  Beulah  *s  inability  to  perform  any  of  her  feats 
when  blindfolded;  another  the  circumstance  that  Beulah 
was  not  successful  in  the  experiments  unless  her  mother 
or  sister  were  in  the  room;  a  third,  that  when  she  read 
the  words  of  which  the  others  were  thinking,  these  words 
never  came  to  her  as  a  whole,  but  always  spelled  out 
slowly,  letter  by  letter.  From  these  undeniable  facts  Miin- 
sterberg concluded  that  Beulah  was  simply  supersensitive 
to  signs  given  unconsciously,  as  in  this  case  by  her  mother 

246 


IN  SUNLIGHT 

and  sister — signs  no  more  marked  than,  for  instance,  an 
involuntary  movement  of  the  foot  or  head.  These  signs 
can  be  received  through  the  child  ^s  oversensitive  skin  or 
the  ears  or  with  the  side  parts  of  the  eyes,  which  are 
made  more  susceptible  to  slight  impressions  when  the 
centers  of  the  eyes  are  fixed  on  some  point,  as  when  Beulah 
stared  at  the  ceiling  and  yet  may  have  perceived  thie  move- 
ments of  her  mother  and  sister.  The  fact  that  blindfolding 
took  away  Beulah  *s  power,  did  not  convince  Miinsterberg 
that  her  power  was  due  wholly  to  the  receptiveness  of  her 
eyes ;  he  believed,  rather,  that  seeing  her  mother  and  sister 
brought  about  a  state  of  autosuggestion  which  sharpened 
her  other  senses,  even  though  it  may  have  been  through 
touch  and  hearing*  that  the  impressions  were  actually  re- 
ceived. Indeed,  a  sign  of  the  child's  suggestibility  might 
be  found  in  the  help  gained  when  she  touched  the  card 
she  tried  to  read.  Furthermore,  Beulah  belonged  ap- 
parently to  the  class  of  individuals,  recognized  by  scien- 
tists, who  with  their  very  sensitive  ears  receive  impressions 
that  are  recorded  in  what  is  popularly  called  the  sub- 
conscious mind,  impressions  that  later  crop  out  after 
they  seem  to  have  been  slumbering  in  this  subconscious- 
ness. This  diagnosis  accounted  for  the  fact  that,  al- 
though the  minister  had  merely  whispered  in  an  ad- 
joining room  that  he  had  in  his  pocket  a  glass  of  honey, 
Beulah,  when  he  asked  her  later  what  he  was  carrying  in 
his  pocket,  could  tell  correctly  what  it  was,  although  she 
had  not  consciously  heard  any  whispering. 

So,  when  Miinsterberg  left  the  quaint  village  for  the 
last  time,  he  returned  with  a  pleasant  remembrance  of 
the  hours  spent  there,  convinced  that  Beulah  Miller  with 
her  extraordinary  gifts  was  indeed  highly  interesting  to 
the  psychologist,  but  that,  as  he  put  it  himself  *'the  edi- 
fice of  science  will  not  be  shaken  by  the  powers  of  my 
little  Rhode  Island  friend." 

247 


\ii 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

Interest  in  applied  psychology,  to  which  so  much  space 
has  been  given  in  the  preceding  chapter,  was  by  no  means 
waning  in  the  year  1912--1913.  It  was  during  this  academic 
season  that  Miinsterberg  wrote  his  book  Psychology  and 
Industrial  Efficiency,  a  virtual  translation  of  the  German 
work  that  had  already  appeared.  Moreover,  he  had  ample 
opportunity  to  bring  his  ideas  directly  before  the  public, 
since  organizations  of  all  kinds  were  clamoring  for  lectures 
on  applied  psychology. 

But  the  most  significant  development  of  the  year  in  the 
effort  to  apply  psychology  was  the  interest  to  which  Miin- 
sterberg roused  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  The 
creation  of  a  Government  bureau  devoted  to  scientific 
research  in  the  application  of  psychology  to  all  the  prob- 
lems of  commerce  and  industry  was  a  scheme  that  Miinster- 
berg had  much  at  heart.  In  the  spring  of  1913  he  went 
to  Washington  and  talked  with  President  Wilson,  Secre- 
tary of  Commerce  Redfield,  and  the  Secretary  of  Labor, 
W.  B.  Wilson.  Encouraged  by  the  interest  with  which 
his  plan  was  met  at  Washington,  Miinsterberg  gave  it 
further  careful  attention  and  on  May  24,  1913  he  wrote 
the  following  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  Commerce,  and 
the  same  to  the  Secretary  of  Labor : 

Oambbidqe,  Massaohusetts, 
January  4th,  1915, 
To  the  Secretary  of  Commerce, 

Department  of  Commerce^ 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Dear  But: 

In  accordance  with  your  recent  suggestion,  I  beg  to  submit 
a  few  outlines  of  the  work  which  I  hope  the  present  admin- 
istration will  undertake  in  connection  with  the  Department  of 
Commerce  and  the  Department  of  Labor.  After  my  visit  in 
Washington  and  my  conversation  with  you,  I  intentionally  post- 
poned writing  for  a  few  weeks  in  order  to  hear  the  views  of 
many  advisers  in  theoretical  and  practical  fields.    After  a  large 

248 


IN  SUNLIGHT 

number*  of  consultations  of  this  kind,  I  feel  to-day  still  more  cer- 
tain than  at  the  time  of  my  visit  that  the  Government  would  un- 
dertake a  most  important  and  most  helpful  work,  a  work  ex- 
cellently fitted  to  help  toward  the  solution  of  our  present  indus- 
trial and  commercial  difficulties,  if  it  were  to  create  such  scien- 
tific bureaus  as  I  suggested.  They  would  mean  for  the  industrial 
life  of  the  najtion  what  the  agricultural  stations  mean  for  the 
farmers,  and  they  would  do  work  which  could  not  be  done  other- 
wise. 

It  may  be  emphasized  first  of  all  that  such  work  would  have 
certain  points  of  contact  with  the  recent  movement  for  scien- 
tific management  which  is  clearly  ebbing  all  over  the  country.  It 
is  recognized  that  a  real  solution  of  the  problems  could  not  be 
gained  in  that  way  and  that  many  serious  humanitarian  interests 
were  overlooked  and  neglected.  The  work  on  the  basis  of  scien- 
tific psychology  would  go  the  opposite  way  and  could  from  the 
beginning  counj;  on  the  earnest  sympathy  of  both  the  employees 
and  the  employers.  In  the  same  way  the  routine  movements  for 
vocational  guidance  have  shown  a  regrettable  one-sidedness,  as 
they  also  have  neglected  the  factor  of  the  human  mind.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  necessity  of  working  in  both  directions  with  really 
scientific  methods  is  just  at  present  most  evident,  as  both  popular 
movements  are  threatened  with  being  switched  off  into  directly 
dangerous  dilettantic  fads.  The  scientific  management  is  sliding 
over  into  the  hands  of  those  who  want  to  select  the  laborers  with 
reference  to  the  angles  of  their  physiognomy  and  the  structure 
of  their  hsfnds.  And  even  the  vocational  bureaus,  as  the  news- 
papers report  from  Washington,  D.  C,  seem  to  be  coming  under 
the  control  of  vocational  quacks,  who  rely  on  their  personal  im- 
pressions in  distributing  young  people  to  the  vocations  for 
which  they  consider  them  fit.  If  such  caricatures  of  vocational 
work  are  endorsed  by  serious  boards,  it  is  the  fullest  time  for  the 
Government  to  undertake  the  establishment  of  really  scientific 
institutes  before  one  of  the  most  promising  movements  of  our  time 
is  turned  into  a  farce. 

Moreover,  the  methods  of  selecting  fit  individuals  for  work 
and  fit  work  for  individuals  would  be  only  a  fraction  of  the  ques- 
tions which  such  a  scientific  bureau  of  psychological  standards 
would  undertake  to  study.  The  nation  needs  a  research  institute 
where  the  whole  psychology  and  psychophysiology  of  manufac- 
ture, transportation,  and  distribution  may  be  studied  with  com- 
plete impartiality  so  as  to  help  both  employers  and  employees 

249 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

and  to  further  the  interests  of  American  industry  and  commerce. 
The  mental  elements  are  more  important  for  the  inner  and  outer 
success  and  satisfaction  than  the  raw  material  and  the  machines. 
While  to-day  the  greatest  care  is  devoted  to  the  problems  of  such 
material  and  equipment,  all  questions  of  the  mind,  questions  like 
fatigue,  monotony,  interest,  learning,  practice,  skill,  rest,  refresh- 
ment, recess,  eagerness,  appetite,  thirst,  joy  in  work,  excitement, 
depression,  reward,  attention,  memory,  will  energy,  and  instinct 
and  many  similar  mental  states  are  dealt  with  by  laymen  without 
any  scientific  understanding. 

Moreover  it  is  doubtful  whether  even  the  scientists  could  furnish 
sufficient  aid  at  the  present  time,  because  the  work  of  the  scholarly 
students  of  the  mind  has  had  too  little  contact  with  the  practical 
problems.  Only  in  recent  days  the  laboratory  studies  of  the  ex- 
perimental and  physiological  psychologists  have  been  brought  in- 
to intimate  relation  to  education  and  medicine  and  into  slighter 
relations  to  law,  but  of  relations  to  the  economic  life,  only  the 
first  beginnings  exist.  It  cannot  be  expected  that  the  university 
laboratories  can  go  far  in  this  direction.  They  can  give  sugges- 
tions and  stimulate  some  original  investigations  in  such  lines,  but 
they  have  neither  the  means  nor  the  time  nor  the  opportunities 
to  carry  on  such  researches  in  the  expansive  form  in  which  they 
may  become  of  decisive  importance  for  the  commonwealth.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  cannot  appear  a  desirable  solution  for  such 
broader  researches  to  be  carried  on  under  the  control  of  manufac- 
turers or  commercial  associations.  Some  efforts  of  this  kind  may 
be  noticed,  but  the  temptation  is  too  great  to  sift  the  results  and 
to  bring  to  the  notice  of  the  community  only  that  which  harmonizes 
with  one-sided  interests. 

It  is  most  desirable  that  also  in  the  future  the  university  labora- 
tories help  to  originate  new  plans  and  that  commercially  in- 
terested groups  undertake  the  carrying  on  of  practical  investiga- 
tion. But  the  central  place  for  such  research  ought  to  be  a 
governmental  bureau  with  a  staff  of  scientifically  trained  men 
and  women  who  combine  psychological  and  physiological  knowl- 
edge and  experimental  methods  with  a  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  realm  of  economic  problems.  The  cruel  and  uneconomic 
waste  of  human  material  by  unfitness  for  work,  by.  accidents,  by 
incompetence,  by  badly  adjusted  methods,  and  by  wrong  dis- 
tribution of  energies  can  be  brought  to  an  end.  Such  a  central 
agency  could  bring  new  life  and  new  interests  and  new  standards 
to  the  commercial  and  industrial  activity  of  the  whole  country, 

250 


IN  SUNLIGHT 

and  above  all  it  could  secure  new  joy  in  work  and  new  stability 
to  the  industry  of  the  nation. 

There  would  be  no  need  to  begin  with  palatial  institutions. 
A  few  thoroughly  well  carried  out  researches  which  bring  into 
clear  relief  the  values  of  the  new  methods  would  be  at  first  more 
important  than  a  factorylike  undertaking  of  many  routine  studies. 
The  chief  thing  would  be  to  secure  a  few  strong  minds  with  con- 
structive imagination,  and  the  facilities  of  offices  through  which 
contact  with  the  economic  establishments  could  be  maintained. 
As  soon  as  a  beginning  is  made,  such  a  bureau  will  grow  up  by 
itself  and  will  soon  reach  an  importance  fully  equal  to  that  of 
the  agricultural  stations.  It  will  become  the  authoritative  center 
to  which  not  only  the  manufacturers  and  commercial  associations 
will  turn,  but  also  the  municipal  and  state  boards  in  the  interest 

of  social  reform. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

Hugo  MUNSTERBEiRG 

Communications  about  this  plan  were  continued  in  the 
year  1913-1914. 

Meanwhile  some  of  the  more  enlightened  men  in  the 
commercial  world,  who  saw  the  possibilities  in  the  coopera- 
tion of  science  and  industry,  turned  to  the  psychologist 
for  advice.  A  letter  from  the  Safety  Supervisor  of  the 
El  Paso  and  Southwestern  Railway  is  merely  an  example. 

Dear  Sir: 

Please  pardon  the  liberty  I  am  taking  in  encroaching  on 
your  valuable  time  with  this  letter.  My  only  excuse,  however,  is 
that  I  know  that  any  new  field  for  applied  psychology  is  of  in- 
terest to  you.  Your  book  On  the  Witness  Stand  I  have  read  with 
intense  interest,  as  a  three  years  experience  as  Assistant  District 
'  Attorney  under  Mr.  Jerome  has  proved  to  me  a  hundred  times 
over,  if  your  psychological  suggestions  were  applied  to  legal  pro- 
ceedings, especially  criminal  ones,  a  great  improvement  would 
be  made  in  the  administration  of  justice  in  the  United  States. 
At  the  present  time  I  am  interested  in  railroad  work,  and  am 
safety  supervisor  for  the  El  Paso  and  Southwestern  system. 
I  have  just  finished  a  careful  examination  and  report  on  the 
largest  railroad  safety  organizations. 

251 


w 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

As  you  may  not  be  familiar  with  this  work,  pardon  a  slight 
explanation  of  it.  .  .  .  etc.  etc.  .  .  . 

«..  ..•••• 

It  has  struck  me  forcibly  that  every  method  of  impressing 
the  men  that  has  been  evolved,  is,  unconsciously  to  its  origina- 
tor who  was  in  every  case  a  railroad  man,  a  purely  psycho- 
logical one.  For  this  reason  I  am  sure  that  a  little  psychologi- 
cal investigation  would  soon  prove  which  methods  were  most 
efficacious  in  eliminating  what  we  call  "human  element,"  and 
would  soon  develop  new  and  more  forcible  ways  of  impressing 
the  men  with  the  Safety  First  idea.  TVo  thirds  of  the  accidents 
on  railroads  are  preventable  ones,  due  entirely  to  the  negligence 
or  disobedience  of  orders  of  some  employee — the  human  element. 
When  you  know  that  10,585  persons  were  killed,  and  169,538  per- 
sons were  injured  on  the  railroads  of  the  United  States,  during 
the  year  ending  June  30,  1912,  and  when  you  know  that  two-thirds 
of  these  accidents  are  preventable,  you  can  easily  realize  the 
humanitarian  and  economic  value  of  this  work. 

One  step  farther  shouM  be  taken.  There  should  be  a  psycho- 
logical test  to  prove  a  man  fitted  for  his  work,  before  he  shall 
be  employed  in  the  operation  department  of  any  railroad.  .  .  . 

•  •••••••* 

After  I  have  perfected  the  safety  organization  for  the  El 
Paso  and  Southwestern  system,  which  will  take  me  at  least 
four  or  five  months,  I  would  very  much  like  to  make  some 
arrangement  with  you,  if  it  were  possible,  to  work  out  these 
various  tests  in  your  laboratory  under  your  guidance  and 
lead.  .  .  . 

As  Miinsterberg  was  called  upon  to  present  the  new 
science  to  diverse  audiences,  he  had  occasion  to  meet  men  of 
varied  occupations,  with  most  divergent  points  of  view. 
Although  he  was  not  a  ** mixer'*  in  the  current  sense  of 
the  term,  his  mind  was  eagerly  open  to  the  ideas  of  the 
earnest  spokesman  for  any.  cause,  whether  it  was  that  of 
the  dry-goods  business,  of  settlement  work,  of  opera  sing- 
ing, or  philosophy.  For  dilettantism  and  bluff  he  had  no 
patience;  for  expertness  in  any  worthy  line  he  felt  the 
profoundest  respect  So  he  endea/vored,  whenever  oc- 
casion demanded,  not  only  to  give  his  best  to  any  group 

252 


IN  SUNLIGHT 

eager  to  learn,  but,  what  is  more  diflScult  for  a  thinker 
accustomed  to  impart  rather  than  to  partake,  he  was  al- 
ways ready,  where  new  significant  facts  or  new  points  of 
view  appeared,  to  listen  and  learn  from  others. 

During  the  season  of  1912-1913,  interests  other  than 
applied  psychology  called  Miinsterberg  away  from  his  by 
no  means  cloistered  study.  In  New  York  a  new  monument 
to  Carl  Schurz  was  unveiled,  and  Miinsterberg  spoke  at 
the  banquet  that  celebrated  this  event.  On  the  13th  of 
December,  1912,  he  attended  in  New  York  the  banquet 
in  honor  of  the  British  Ambassador,  James  Bryce,  given 
by  the  American  Committee  for  the  Celebration  of  the 
One  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  Peace  among  English- 
speaking  peoples. 

Untouched  by  any  forebodings  of  the  darkness  that  was 
to  cover  the  nations  little  more  than  a  year  hence,  Miinster- 
berg made  an  enthusiastic  speech  at  a  banquet  in  Chicago 
in  1913  after  the  presentation  and  unveiling  of  the  Goethe 
monument  by  the  sculptor  Hahn.  This  statue  does  not 
represent  the  poet's  features  but  a  symbolic  figure  of  a 
young  Titan.  When  Miinsterberg  was  in  Chicago  for  the 
unveiling  of  this  monument,  he  was  asked  to  speak  in  the 
afternoon  at  Brandt  Park  to  a  large  audience  of  school 
children  and  young  people;  this  he  gladly  consented  to 
do  and  delighted  in  the  unaccustomed  out-of-door  preach- 
ing. 

Numerous  though  MUnsterberg's  travels  were  in  this 
period,  his  social  life  at  home  did  not  lack  pleasure  and 
variety;  indeed,  during  the  season  of  1912-1913  and  the 
following  one  many  interesting  visitors  passed  through 
Cambridge,  and  stopped  at  the  philosopher's  house.  A 
**  philosophical  dinner '*  that  Miinsterberg  gave  in  honor 
of  Professor  Riehl  was  characteristic.  The  guests  were 
Professor  Royce,  the  metaphysician;  Professor  George 
Herbert  Palmer,  the  beloved  expositor  of  ethics;  Profes- 

253 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

sor  George  Foote  Moore,  the  Harvard  theologian;  and  a 
visiting  theologian,  Professor  von  Dobschiitz;  Professor 
Francis  Peabody,  teacher  of  Christian  ethics  and  philan- 
thropy, who  had  been  the  first  Exchange  Professor  from 
Harvard;  Professor  Baldensperger,  Harvard's  visitor 
from  France ;  the  Japanese  philosopher,  Professor  Anesaki ; 
and  Dr.  Muck,  conductor  of  the  Boston  Symphony  orches- 
tra. 

At  the  close  of  the  academic  year,  Miinsterberg  sought 
quiet  once  more  in  Clifton,  and  in  this  pastoral  summer 
retreat  he  celebrated  his  fiftieth  birthday  happily  with  his 
family,  and  received  congratulatory  visits,  gifts  and  let- 
ters. 

From  the  first  of  June  to  the  first  of  August,  Miinster- 
berg dictated  to  a  German  secretary  his  comprehensive 
book  on  applied  psychology:  Grundziige  der  Psychotech- 
nik.  Not  until  this  period  of  intense  productive  work 
was  ended,  did  his  real  vacation  begin. 

In  June,  however,  his  work  was  interrupted  by  the  joy- 
ful occasion  of  his  brother  Oskar's  wedding,  which  took 
place  in  a  romantic  chapel  above  the  sea  on  a  rocky  promon- 
tory of  Kennebunk  port,  Maine.  An  hour  later,  in  the 
cottage  where  the  wedding  supper  was  held,  while  waves 
swished  round  it,  Hugo,  as  best  man,  toasted  his  brother's 
bride  and  spoke  of  the  ocean  as  a  symbol  of  their  union: 


.  .  .  You  do  not  lose  your  own  country  by  gaining  a  new 
one.  Yes,  you  will  discover  what  we  have  found  through  long 
years  of  happiness,  that  the  ocean  yonder  does  not  sever  the 
lands,  but  unites  tbem. 

But  the  ocean  is  not  only  a  reminder  of  past  times,  and  a 
suggestion  of  future  times:  it  is  a  symbol  of  timeless  eternity. 
The  meaning  of  the  ocean  has  always  been  the  eternal  mystery, 
the  unknown  depths  which  surround  us.  .  .  .  Yes,  whenever 
we  build  our  house  on  the  rock  of  life,  around  it  widens  the  ocean 
of  the  eternal,  and  thus  it  is  a  wonderful  symbol,  this  wedding 
on  the  rock  surrounded  by  the  ocean.  .  .  . 

254 


IN  SUNLIGHT 


A  month  later  the  daughter  of  Emil  Miinsterberg,  the 
deceased  older  brother  of  Hugo,  was  married  to  the  well 
known  English  writer,  William  Harbutt  Dawson  of  Lon- 
don. Now  Hugo  felt  that  his  family  was  truly  interna- 
tional, and  he  liked  to  look  upon  these  marriages  of  his 
brother  and  his  niece  as  a  symbol  for  that  ideal  of  his 
public  life — harmony  among  the  United  States,  Germany, 

and  England. 

It  was  less  than  a  year  later,  at  Easter  time,  1914,  that 
the  English  philosopher,  Bertrand  Russell,  gave  a  course 
of  lectures  at  the  Lowell  Institute  in  Boston.  Miinster- 
berg, who  was  charmed  with  his  wit  and  valued  his 
scholarly  distinction,  entertained  him  at  his  house.  This 
was  Munsterberg's  last  festivity  before  the  war.  A  few 
days  later  his  daughter  was  stricken  with  scarlet  fever. 
This  was  an  accident  that  affected  his  destiny,  for  it  was 
now  necessary  to  give  up  the  intended  voyage  to  Europe 
for  which  passage  had  already  been  engaged  on  the  8,  8. 
Cincinnati.  To  Miinsterberg  this  forced  change  of  plans 
meant  merely  at  the  moment  a  postponement  of  another 
summer  abroad,  but  in  reality  it  was  thus  decreed  that 
he  should  never  see  his  native  land  again.^ 

I  For  literature  written  during  the  period  covered  by  this  chap- 
ter see  Appendix,  pages  424-437. 


CHAPTER    XIV 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


(August,  1914— December,  1916) 


When,  in  August,  1914,  Miinsterberg's  textbook,  Psy* 
chology:  General  and  Applied,  appeared,  he  said  wistfully 
that  under  normal  conditions  the  publication  of  this  book, 
which  comprised  the  fruit  of  his  life  work  in  his  chosen 
field,  would  have  given  him  a  profound  satisfaction;  that 
now,  however,  the  shadow  that  hung  over  the  world 
eclipsed  all  things  else.  Mtinsterberg  was  in  his  seashorfe 
cottage  at  Clifton  when  the  newspapers  first  brought  the 
reports  of  the  mobilization  of  armies,  then  the  staggering 
account  of  the  world  fire.  Soon  followed  accounts  of 
bloody  havoc  among  the  Germans  on  their  way  to  Liege, 
and  from  every  printed  sheet  streamed  a  flood  of  denun- 
ciations. Mtinsterberg,  whose  very  life  breath  was  the 
furtherance  of  international  friendship,  was  more  than 
cast  down  by  grief.  Moreover  he  felt  anxiety  for  the 
fate  of  his  native  land  and,  naturally,  for  the  safety  of 
his  kinsfolk.  The  city  of  his  youth,  Danzig,  might  al- 
ready be  overrun  by  Russians  his  relatives  in  Alsace 
might  be  endangered. 

On  August  3rd  Mtinsterberg  had  promised  to  make  the 
festal  address  at  Utica,  New  York,  at  the  unveiling  of  a 
statue  of  Steuben.  It  is  not  an  easy  task  to  speak  to  a 
large,  expectant  audience  when  one's  heart  is  heavy  with 

256 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

sorrow.  Yet  the  accomplishment  of  this  task  had  a  tonic 
effect  upon  Mtinsterberg.  He  faced  an  assembly  of  men 
and  women  who  had  gathered  to  honor  the  memory  of 
the  German  general  who  helped  Washington  to  make  pos- 
sible the  United  States — an  assembly  that,  like  the  speaker, 
was  anxious  for  the  endangered  land  of  its  fathers  and 
bewildered  by  the  hostile  voices  round  it.  These  men  and 
women  looked  upon  him  as  one  who  would  protect  their 
faith  in  justice  against  the  onrush  of  one-sided  judgment. 
And  they  did  not  look  to  him  in  vain.  In  his  speech  he 
said: 


Fortunately  America  has  now  been  for  almost  a  hundred 
years  at  peace  with  the  country  against  which  the  American 
armies  fought  under  von  Steuben.  But  with  the  fatherland 
of  Steuben  America  has  always  been  at  peace.  This  peace  ought 
never  to  be  broken. 

With  the  tremendous  applause  of  his  audience  in  his 
ears  and  the  confidence  and  sympathy  of  many  an  earnest 
American  in  his  heart,  he  returned  to  his  seashore  solitude. 

Immediately  upon  his  return,  he  planned  a  book,  in  the 
form  of  a  diary,  which  was  to  appear,  as  soon  as  his  swift 
creative  powers  would  allow,  as  the  first  war  book  in  the 
country  under  the  title  *  *  The  War  and  America. ' '  A  rep- 
resentative of  D.  Appleton  and  Company,  of  New  York, 
came  to  Clifton  to  talk  over  plans  for  the  publication  of 
the  book,  and  Mtinsterberg  dictated  to  his  secretary,  Miss 
Wilkins,  with  remarkable  speed  and  concentration  through- 
out the  month  of  August. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  German  cables  were  cut 
from  the  start,  that  America  received  her  news  and  the 
coloring  of  her  public  opinion  from  England.  Therefore 
it  was  quite  legitimate  that  the  other  side  of  the  conflict 
should  be  presented.    It  must  be  emphasized,  moreover, 

257 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


II 


that  in  his  interpretation  of  Germany's  course  Miinster- 
berg  brought  no  railings  against  its  enemies,  and,  although 
the  struggle  in  its  initial  stages  seemed  to  him  a  contest 
between  Slav  and  Teuton  supremacy  in  Europe,  he  never- 
theless recognized  the  Slavic  aspiration  as  historically  jus- 
tified and  not  immoral,  however  dangerous  he  believed 
such  dominion  for  the  civilization  of  Europe. 

The  book  included  a  number  of  articles  written  in  the 
heat  and  stress  of  the  moment,  which  first  appeared  in 
newspapers  and  magazines.  In  the  first  weeks  of  the  war 
the  Boston  Herald  printed  Miinsterberg's  plea  for  **Fair 
Play/*  This  article  made  an  immense  sensation;  it  was 
reprinted  in  the  New  York  Times,  New  York  Post,  and 
numerous  other  papers;  it  was  quoted,  praised,  and  at- 
tacked, in  short,  it  ran  like  wild  fire  across  the  country. 
The  Editor  of  the  Boston  Herald,  Robert  O'Brien,  wrote 
to  Miinsterberg : 

BosTOir,  August  12,  19U. 
Professor  Hugo  M^nstbrberg, 
Clifton,  Mass. 

My  dear  Professor: 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  August  9.  It  is  very  odd 
the  vogue  which  your  article  in  The  Herald  had.  It  was  one 
of  those  proclamations  which  everybody  in  the  United  States 
seems  to  have  read.  At  least,  all  editorials  were  based  on  the 
assumption  that  the  contents  of  your  article  were  generally 
known.  I  am,  of  course,  very  grateful  to  you  for  allowing 
The  Herald  to  be  the  vehicle  of  such  an  article.  I  am  always 
pleased  to  have  the  largest  possible  identification  of  you  and 
your  work  with  The  Boston  Herald. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Robert  L.  O'Brien 

On  August  9th  there  appeared,  in  three  million  copies 
of  Sunday  papers,  Miinsterberg 's  reply  to  the  statement 

258 


made  by  H.  G.  Wells  in  England  and  cabled  over  the 
world,  in  which  he  condemned  Germany  and  painted  a 
picture  of  the  calamity  that  would  befall  Europe  if  Russia 
were  not  victorious.     In  this  reply  Miinsterberg  said: 

From  Mr.  Wells,  the  fanatic,  we  ought  to  appeal  to  Mr.  Wells 
the  delightful  novelist,  whose  feeling  for  poetic  balance  could 
not  approve  such  a  story  in  which  chivalrous  heroes  stand 
against  villains  and  brutes. 

In  the  chapter  of  his  book  entitled  '"Philosophers," 
Miinsterberg  recalled  friendly  conver^tions  he  had  had 
at  Harvard  a  few  years  before  with  Mr.  Wells,  who  had 
then  just  read  Miinsterberg 's  book  The  Americans;  and  he 
also  recalled  how  in  the  most  friendly  spirit  he  had  pre- 
sided at  a  Psychological  Congress  in  Paris  together  with 
Professor  Bergson.  To  these  two  he  appealed  in  his  dis- 
appointment : 

Of  course,  you  and  I  and  men  of  our  type  everywhere  have  no 
personal  taste  for  the  instruments  of  force,  for  armies  and  navies 
and  all  that  stem  militarism,  but  at  least  we  know  that  no 
single  people  is  responsible  for  these  sharp-edged  tools  of  power 
which  the  jealousy  of  the  nations  never  allows  to  become  dulled. 
We  may  regret  that  no  better  means  have  been  discovered.  Yet 
why  must  it  make  us  unjust  and  unfair  toward  one  people  which 
is  exactly  like  the  others  t  And  must  it  destroy  all  our  historic 
understanding  as  if  the  excitement  of  the  hour  could  lower  the 
philosopher  to  the  level  of  the  unthinking  crowd? 

In  spite  of  the  war  estrangement,  Miinsterberg  still  had 
private  correspondence  with  H.  G.  Wells,  which,  on  the  part 
of  the  versatile  Englishman,  was  individual  and  char- 
acteristic. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  said  that  the  last  novel 
that  Miinsterberg  read  and,  indeed,  read  with  pleasure 
and  admiration,  was  Mr,  Brittling  Sees  It  Through. 

259 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


li 


Newspaper  comments  and  replies,  in  letters  and  edito- 
rials, to  Miinsterberg*s  presentations  came  fast  and  hard. 
The  press  clippings,  heaped  high  on  the  psychologist's 
breakfast  table,  brought  him  daily  surprises.  An  edito- 
rial in  the  New  York  World  attacked  the  '*  sophisms  of  a 
Miinsterberg/ '  To  this  he  replied  in  a  letter  of  August 
12th  in  the  Post,  Newspapers  were  storming  Miinster- 
berg  for  contributions;  even  such  a  thoroughly  anti-Ger- 
man paper  as  the  New  York  World  asked  to  be  favored. 
On  August  17th,  accordingly,  the  World  printed  an  article 
that  was  published  simultaneously  in  Chicago,  Boston,  and 
St.  Louis,  and  the  New  York  paper  assured  him  that  it 
would  be  willing  to  print  anything  that  he  cared  to  write 
and  as  often  as  he  wished. 

Surfeited  as  the  public  was  with  almost  unrelieved  de- 
nunciation, an  immense  curiosity  arose  to  hear  something 
from  the  other  side.  Miinsterberg 's  mail  grew  volum- 
inous; the  little  post  office  in  Clifton  had  never  known  so 
much  business.  There  were  letters  and  postcards  of  all 
kinds,  as  Miinsterberg  expressed  it  himself:  ** Informal 
letters,  warm  or  cool,  polite  or  sharp,  grammatical  or 
otherwise."  Many  of  them  were  barbaric  ebullitions,  out- 
bursts of  spiteful  and  insulting  attacks  which  stirred  the 
recipient's  sense  of  humor;  there  were  long  arguments 
on  either  side,  including  many  protests  against  the  unfair 
judgment  inspired  and  fostered  by  a  one-sided  press  and 
molded  into  public  opinion. 

A  volume  could  be  filled  with  the  correspondence  of 
that  first  month  alone  which  would  be  invaluable  material 
alike  for  the  historian  and  the  social  psychologist.  Un- 
doubtedly it  gave  Miinsterberg  an  insight  into  the  real 
thought  of  the  people  which  was  denied  to  the  usual  news- 
paper reader. 

In  a  magazine,  too,  first  appeared  another  chapter  of 

260 


the  book:  '*The  Threatened  Provinces.'*  As  it  happened, 
the  threatened  provinces  were  closely  connected  with  Miin- 
sterberg's  own  life,  and  this  chapter  holds  reminiscences 
of  his  home  Danzig  in  the  north  and  of  Weissenburg  in 
Alsace  where  he  married  and  which  he  had  since  visited 
often.  He  ends  with  the  reflection:  **They  may  think 
that  Germany,  after  all,  is  hardly  changed  if  such  slices 
on  the  east  and  on  the  west  are  cut  off  by  its  neighbors, 
as  the  diagrams  of  this  morning's  paper  suggest.  But  I 
know  one  who  would  feel  that  Germany  had  perished  if 
"Weissenburg  became  French  and  Danzig  became  Russian." 
The  opaque  veil  that  screened  the  fateful  future  from  his 
gaze  was  never  lifted. 

It  was  an  odd  bit  of  irony  that  in  the  first  week  of 
August  a -steamer  from  England  brought  Miinsterberg  a 
letter  from  the  President  of  the  International  Congress  of 
Philosophy,  inviting  him  to  deliver  the  first  address  at  the 
psychological  meeting  of  the  Congress,  which  was  to  be  held 
in  London  the  following  summer.  Miinsterberg  and  his 
family,  who  had  last  attended  the  International  Congress 
of  Philosophy  when  it  met  at  Heidelberg  in  1908,  had 
long  looked  forward  to  the  assembly  of  scholars  in  London 
and  to  English  hospitality.  Now.  the  philosopher's  golden 
dreflam  of  English,  American,  and  German  friendship  and 
of  cultural  communion  was  shattered ;  no  one  suffered  more 
from  this  collapse  than  Miinsterberg.  It  was  also  in  the 
first  week  of  the  war  that  he  made  a  luncheon  engagement 
in  Boston  with  an  English  clergyman  who  had  been  given 
an  introduction  to  him.  This  divine  had  been  on  the 
high  seas  when  England  declared  war.  Nevertheless,  in 
Miinsterberg 's  own  words,  **  through  long  stages  of  our 
talk  he  and  I  were  not  aware  that  the  world  was  ablaze 
and  we  discussed  heartily  the  recent  tendencies  in  the 
philosophy  of  the  soul  and  the  theories  of  the  subconscious. 

261 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

All  that  time  we  forgot  that  our  native  lands  are  hostile 
to  each  other.  The  coast  of  the  philosophers'  country 
cannot  be  threatened  by  battleships/'  Alas,  the  for- 
tresses of  divine  philosophy  did  not  prove  strong  enough 
to  keep  out  the  invaders! 

The  little  book  The  War  and  America,  dictated  between 
August  5th  and  September  5th,  was  actually  the  first  war 
book  to  appear,  not  only  in  America,  but  in  the  whole 
western  world.  It  was  published  on  September  21,  1914. 
The  stir  it  made  can  be  imagined,  also  the  ardent  praise 
and  blame  it  inspired.  Miinsterberg  had  to  suffer  what 
he  had  endured  more  or  less  throughout  his  public  career, 
but  which  now  was  practiced  in  a  specially  high  degree — 
namely,  the  perversion  of  his  utterances.  Not  only  were 
there  wrong  quotations,  but  the  much  more  subtle  and 
ingenious  quotations  of  isolated  passages  without  the  mod- 
ifying complementary  parts  of  his  arguments.  Never- 
theless his  work  brought  him  much  gratitude.  To  many 
bewildered  hearts  the  little  book  brought  courage,  to  many 
confused  minds  clearness,  to  many  lovers  of  justice,  satis- 
faction. 

Miinsterberg 's  prominence  on  the  battle  ground  of  public 
opinion  had  many  satisfying,  many  painful,  and  many 
queer  results.  One  of  these  last  was  a  telegram  sent  on 
September  4,  1914,  by  the  New  York  Times: 

Would  yen  entertain  proposition  to  go  to  Berlin  to  represent 
us  during  war  crisis  T 

This  was  followed  by  another  dispatch  an  hour  later: 


Referring  to  suggestion  in  previous  telegram  we  might  be  able 
to  make  it  worth  while  to  obtain  leave  of  absence  for  purpose 
mentioned  if  that  is  possible.  May  we  send  a  man  to  see  you 
about  itt 

262 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


Needless  to  say,  such  a  proposition  was  not  given  a 
moment's  serious  consideration. 

The  summer  was  drawing  to  a  close.  Except  for  the 
aforementioned  journey  to  Utica  and  two  visits  to  New 
York,  in  September,  Miinsterberg  had  taken  his  active 
share  in  the  excitement  of  the  times  from  his  quiet 
sea-shore  retreat.  Return  to  work  and  life  among  col- 
leagues  under   the   new    conditions   was   a    prospect    of 

doubtful  charm. 

Meanwhile  the  mail  continued  to  bring,  among  letters 
of  thanks  and  requests  for  more  information  and  enlighten- 
ment, thoroughly  offensive  communications,  even  threats 
against  the  scholar's  life.  Although  the  psychologist  knew 
well  enough  that  the  spiteful  emotions  of  the  man  who 
threatened  to  shoot  him  in  the  College  Yard  had  found 
ample  discharge  in  the  threat  itself,  without  further  need 
of  action,  nevertheless,  in  those  early  days,  whenever  Miin- 
sterberg left  his  house  in  Cambridge,  the  possibility  of  his 
being  attacked  by  some  fanatic  on  the  way  to  Emerson 
Hall  was  present  in  his  mind. 

Yet  that  was  not  the  worst.  The  air  that  he  was  wont 
to  breathe,  the  calm,  pleasant,  warm  air  of  the  academic 
community,  had  suddenly  grown  chill  and  raw.  The  es- 
trangement of  colleagues  and  acquaintances  that  made  it- 
self felt  in  a  hundred  more  or  less  delicate  ways  did  not 
penetrate  into  the  classroom  or  into  the  laboratory  in 
Emerson  Hall,  where  work  with  students  and  immediate 
colleagues  was  resumed  with  undisturbed  vigor.  Miin- 
sterberg retained  to  the  last  the  happy  faculty  of  becoming 
absorbed  in  whatever  problem  he  undertook  to  solve 
without  allowing  the  cares  or  grief  in  the  background  of 
his  mind  to  affect  either  his  capacity  or  his  interest. 
Therefore  he  went  cheerfully  about  his  daily  duties. 

With  his  social  life  it  was  otherwise.  From  October  on, 
Miinsterberg  stayed  away  for  a  year  from  that  small 

263 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERQ 


number  of  distractions  that  his  constant  work  allowed 
him — from  the  Symphony  concerts,  which  he  so  enjoyed, 
from  occasional  club  meetings,  from  dinner  parties  and 
receptions.  On  October  14,  1914,  Miinsterberg  appeared 
for  the  last  time  at  a  faculty  meeting  of  Harvard. 

On  September  26th,  the  London  Times  printed  a  slander- 
ous article,  sent  anonymously  from  New  York,  called  *  *  The 
Kaiser's  Agents  in  America.''  This  calumny,  based  on 
falsehood,  Miinsterberg  recognized  as  the  probable  incen- 
tive to  a  new  and  grotesque  outburst  against  him.  A 
young  man  of  wealth  in  London,  who  had  once  spent 
some  time  at  Harvard,  offered  to  leave  the  University  ten 
million  dollars  in  his  will  if  Miinsterberg  were  dismissed. 
Now  this  bomb  burst  at  a  time  when  venomous  attacks 
by  mail  were  pouring  in  upon  Miinsterberg,  including  the 
uncanny  threats  against  his  life.  Various  Harvard  alumni 
urged  Miinsterberg 's  removal  from  the  university.  Fur- 
thermore, gossip  brought  to  him  the  expressed  wishes  of 
some  colleagues  that  he  resign.  Therefore,  on  October  14, 
1914,  he  offered  his  resignation,  on  the  condition  that  five 
million  of  the  promised  ten  million  be  paid  to  the  univer- 
sity immediately.  The  Corporation,  however,  stood  firm 
for  the  freedom  of  its  teachers  to  express  their  thoughts 
in  a  proper  way,  even  though  these  were  contrary  to  the 
prevailing  public  opinion;  and  Miinsterberg 's  resignation 
was  not  accepted.  The  psychologist's  mail  was  now  filled 
with  letters  of  rejoicing,  and  for  some  time  the  denuncia- 
tions and  threats  were  silenced. 

It  seemed  to  Miinsterberg  that  hostility  began  at  home. 
In  spite  of  his  painful  experiences  at  Harvard,  he  enjoyed 
lively  exchange  of  views  with  leading  men  of  thought 
and  action  throughout  the  country.  His  correspondence 
with  Roosevelt  was  particularly  brisk  from  August  8,  1914, 
on.  Miinsterberg  always  enjoyed  letters  from  Roosevelt, 
whether  their  contents  agreed  with  his  views  or  not;  for 

264 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

they  were  poignant,  spontaneous,  unique.  The  spontane- 
ity expressed  itself  in  a  characteristic  habit  that  might  be 
called  an  overflow  of  thought.  There  was  scarcely  one 
long  dictated  and  typewritten  letter  that  Roosevelt  had 
signed  without  inserting  a  number  of  forceful  additions 
in  his  own  handwriting.  These  individual  touches  made 
Roosevelt's  letters  precious  living  documents. 

Early  in  November,  1914,  Roosevelt  invited  Miinsterberg 
to  Sagamore  Hill  and  asked  him  to  bring  with  him  Edmund 
von  Mach,  author  of  What  Germany  Wants.  Munsterberg 
had  hitherto  been  the  Colonel's  guest  only  at  the  White 
House ;  this  opportunity  of  seeing  his  home  was  therefore 
most  welcome.  These  are  Miinsterberg 's  own  words  in  a 
letter  to  Roosevelt  a  month  later : 

I  carry  with  me  most  delightful  reminiscences  of  the  morning 
in  Oyster  Bay.  It  is  now  fifteen  years  since  you  wrote  to  me 
the  first  time  that  I  ought  to  stay  a  night  with  you  in  Oyster 
Bay,  but  I  did  not  cotiie  to  it.  Ever  since  that  time  I  have 
had  the  wish  to  see  you  on  the  background  of  your  trophies. 
My  visit  the  other  day  to  Sagamore  HUl  was  therefore  to  me 
an  especial  delight,  and  I  enjoyed  every  minute  of  it. 

What  Miinsterberg  enjoyed  especially  was  the  sense  of 
freedom  that  he  felt  in  the  presence  of  Roosevelt's  vigor- 
ous, versatile  mind,  which  made  possible  a  perfectly  frank 
discussion  of  the  vital  problems  of  the  world  situation,  even 
though  their  views  diverged.  Roosevelt  was  at  that  time 
still  eager  to  hear  and  study  both  sides  of  the  terrible 

conflict. 

When  he  came  to  Harvard  for  an  Overseers'  meeting, 
Roosevelt  was  the  guest  of  Miinsterberg  at  a  luncheon  in 
his  house  to  which  he  invited  a  group  of  colleagues  and 
friends  concerned  and  conversant  with  the  great  inter- 
national problems.    Roosevelt  wrote: 

265 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


January  4th,  1915, 
My  dear  Munsterberg: 
I  look  forward  eagerly  to  that  luncheon;  but  I  am  really 

distressed  at  what  you  tell  me  about  H .  and  T .     I  know 

perfectly  well  that  I  am  an  object  of  animosity  to  the  German- 
Americans  ;  and  while  it  grieves  me  very  much  and  while  I  think 
it  unjust  and  improper,  still  I  understand  it.  But  I  am  ab- 
solutely at  a  loss  to  understand  any  American  feeling  hostile 
to  a  German,  even  although  on  the  question  of  Belgium  he  takes 
the  view  that  I  do. 

Faithfully  yours, 

Theodore  Roosevelt 
and  in  retrospect  : 

My  dear  Professor  Munsterberg: 

Your  volume  has  just  come.  I  thank  you  for  it.  Will  you 
give  my  warm  regards  to  your  family?  I  shall  always  remem- 
ber my  lunch  at  your  house  as  a  particularly  pleasant  one! 

Faithfully  yours, 

Theodore  Roosevelt 

Miinsterberg  felt  the  pulse-beat  of  different  nations 
and  groups  of  nations.  Not  only  did  the  upholders  of 
most  varied  political  faiths  in  America  approach  him, 
not  only  did  he  keep  in  touch,  as  well  as  the  hampered 
means  of  communication  allowed,  with  the  moods  and 
opinions  in  Germany,  but  on  conditions  in  England,  too, 
he  became  well  informed — the  England  as  seen  from  the 
inside  and  not  through  the  spectacles  of  the  newspapers. 
An  English  acquaintance,  in  fact,  sent  him  torrents  of 
keen,  eloquent  letters  that  traced  the  fluctuations  of 
governmental  and  public  thought  and  feeling  in  Great 
Britain.  The  picture  that  Miinsterberg  had  of  the  world 
situation  was  thus  far  from  one-sided.  The  influence  he 
was  able  to  exert  was  never  used  to  inflame  anger,  but 
always  to  prevent  further  hostility;  he  was  an  eager 
champion,  but  never  an  aggressor.  His  attitude  is  apparent 
in  a  letter  to  his  English  correspondent : 

266 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


Dear  Mr. 


Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
Jantiary,  19,  1916 


I  am  in  the  possession  of  two  letters  of  yours,  both  referring 
to  the  psychological  problems  involved  in  the  atrocity  stories. 
I  apologize  for  not  having  replied  to  the  first.  It  came  at  a 
time  at  which  I  was  so  overwhelmed  by  the  anti-German  fury 
of  America  that  I  had  to  concentrate  all  my  correspondence  and 
work  on  doing  my  little  share  in  stemming  the  flood  of 
hatred  which  was  to  destroy  all  the  pleasant  international  re- 
lations to  which  I  had  devoted  the  work  of  the  last  twenty 
years.  You  know  it  has  always  been  the  aim  of  my  work  to 
secure  real  harmony  between  America,  Germany,  and  England.  I 
had  even  hoped  that  America  would  be  the  element  by  which  that 
most  regrettable  antagonism  of  England  and  Germany  would 
be  relieved.  You  can  imagine  with  how  much  sadness  and 
disappointment  the  last  months  have  filled  my  mind. 

But  my  reluctance  to  write  to  Englishmen  grew  when  I 
saw  how  unfairly  English  newspapers  have  distorted  my  in- 
tentions. The  attitude  which  controlled  all  my  writings  here 
was  that  this  war  was  one  of  historical  necessity  and  that  no 
one  was  to  be  blamed.  I  emphasized  a  hundred  times  that  I 
had  no  word  of  moral  opprobrium  for  England  or  France  and 
that  I  regret  the  anti-English  passion  which  has  swept  over 
Germany  since  the  war  broke  out.  I  felt  in  the  position  of  an 
accused  who  had  no  defender.  In  such  a  position  I  had  no 
right  to  take  part  in  movements  which  under  normal  conditions 
would  have  found  me  most  willing  to  respond  and  to  assist. 
The  movement  to  examine  the  atrocity  stories  from  a  legal  and 
at  the  same  time  a  scientific  point  of  view  belongs  to  this  group. 

Yet  if  I  consider  the  excitements  of  this  unparalleled  time, 
I  hardly  imagine  that  a  scientific  or  legal  inquiry  by  men  who 
all  belong  to  one  side  is  possible  yet;  and  a  cooperation  of  men 
from  both  sides  is  practically  out  of  the  question.  Witnesses 
who  believe  that  they  are  performing  a  patriotic  duty  by  lying 
and  still  more  witnesses  who  in  the  face  of  those  horrors  of 
war  lose  the  ability  of  objective  observation  and  see  atrocities 
by  autosuggestion  would  be  abundant.  I  hardly  think  that  the 
time  has  come  to  sift  the  reliable  evidence. 

But  while  I  do  not  see  my  way  to  any  practical  work  in  these 
days  of  confusion  and  bewilderment,  I  am  anxious  to  assure 
you  of  my  deepest  sympathy  with  your  attitude.    I  remember 

267 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


you  very  well  from  those  days  in  Winnipeg  and  hope  cordially 
that  the  time  may  be  near  when  Englishmen  and  Germans  can 
meet  again  anywhere  in  the  world  on  terms  of  sincere  and  hearty 
cooperation. 

Faithfully  yours, 

Hugo  Munsterberq 

Whatever  advice  Miinsterberg  was  able  to  give  to  the 
German  Government  was  always  in  the  interest  of  concilia- 
tion and  in  consideration  of  the  American  point  of  view. 
If  this  had  been  known  to  those  who  accused  him  unjustly 
of  unfriendliness  toward  the  American  people,  they  might 
have  refrained  from  their  attacks.  If  it  had  been  Miinster- 
berg's  custom  to  flatter  before  one's  face  and  criticize 
behind  one's  back,  he  would  no  doubt  have  chosen  a 
shrewder  course  and  exposed  himself  less  to  misunder- 
standing. As  it  was,  although  in  social  intercourse  he 
was  agreeable  and  suave  rather  than  what  is  called  **  plain- 
spoken,  ' '  in  his  public  life  he  had  always  offered  criticism 
intended  to  help  the  public  he  addressed,  and  had  tried  to 
interpret  and  commend  the  other  group  or  nation  from 
which  it  might  learn. 

The  same  motive  that  prompted  his  advice  to  the  German 
Government,  namely,  the  desire  to  prevent  further  hos- 
tility in  word  and  deed  and  to  prevent  the  ultimately 
possible  entrance  of  America  into  the  war,  also  prompted 
his  suggestions  to  the  occupant  of  the  White  House. 
These  were  received  with  ready  interest.  In  the  opening 
page  of  a  letter  to  President  Wilson,  written  on  February 
24,  1915,  Miinsterberg's  attitude  is  set  forth  in  his  own 

words : 

•    Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
February  24,  1915, 
Dear  Mr.  PREsroENT: 

You  have  repeatedly  allowed  me  to  speak  when  special  political 
questions  were  involved — I  cannot  remain  silent  when  the  most 
general  question,  that  of  a  possible  war  between  America  and 

268 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

Germany,  stands  before  the  world.  I  have  now  spent  twenty- 
three  years  with  the  one  purpose  of  strengthening  the  ties 
between  the  United  States  and  Germany,  and  until  the  last  day 
of  July  of  securing  friendship  between  the  United  States, 
Germany,  and  England.  I  was  grieved  beyond  words  when  all 
the  efforts  for  Germany  and  England  failed,  but  I  should  see 
my  lifework  crumbling  if  the  day  really  came  when  America 
and  Germany,  too,  were  at  war.  Yet  as  Boston  is  discussing 
this  ghastly  possibility  almost  as  probable,  I  must  face  the 
terror.  And  yet,  as  I  have  said  in  all  my  letters  to  papers  in 
Germany,  I  trust  with  every  fiber  of  my  heart  in  your  ^ber 
judgment  and  in  your  power  to  think  independently  from  the 
furor  of  the  masses.  .  .  . 

Of  the  acknowledgements  from  the  White  House,  the 
following  is  perhaps  couched  in  the  most  characteristic 
language : 

The  White  House,  Washington. 

May  7,  1915. 

My  dear  Professor  Muksterberg: 

May  I  not  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  April 
twenty-eighth  and  express  my  appreciation  of  the  confidence 
you  repose  in  me  in  being  so  kind  as  to  give  me  the  information 
it  contains?  I  hope  that  you  will  rest  assured  that  I  am  not 
suspicious  either  of  conduct  or  of  motive  and  find  it  not 
difficult  to  understand  just  what  extraordinary  influences  are 

at  work. 

Sincerely  yours, 

WooDROw  Wilson 


At  Easter,  1915,  another  little  book  of  Munsterberg's 
was  laid  before  the  public.  Its  title,  which  characterized 
the  aim  of  all  his  efforts,  was  The  Peace  and  America. 
This  volume  was,  in  a  way,  a  response  to  the  floed  of  letters 
that  he  had  received  after  the  publication  of  his  articles 
and  first  book  on  war  problems.  In  spite  of  the  misinter- 
pretations and  opposition  he  had  to  encounter,  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  his  efforts  to  inspire  fair 

269 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

judgment  were  not  in  vain.    For  every  skeptical  or  hostile 
letter  he  received,  five  or  ten  or  twenty  letters  came  that 
responded  to  his  arguments  with  enthusiasm.     The  greater 
part  of  those  responsive  letter  writers,  who  either  firmly 
and  openly  or  stealthily  declared  that  they  shared  his 
views  or  had  been  convinced  by  them,  were  Americans 
of  other  than  German  descent.    Among  those  abnormal 
few  who  expressed  hopes  that  America  might  fight  on  the 
side  of  Germany  and  suggested  means  of  bringing  about 
such    a    decision   there   was   not    one    German-American. 
Moreover,  such  propositions  were  immediately  rejected  by 
Miinsterberg,  who  longed  for  nothing  more  than  that  Amer- 
ica should  keep  her  peace  and  bring  peace  to  the  world. 
The  little  book  did  not  pretend  to  be  a  scholarly  and 
objective  estimate  of  events;  he  knew  too  well  that  the 
time  was  not  yet  ripe  for  cool  analysis.     In  the  opening 
pages  of  the  first  chapter  called  'Teace''  he  said: 

I  do  not  wish  and  do  not  pretend  to  be  scholarly—I  cannot 
promise  anything  but  to  be  sincere.  I  do  not  want*  to  convince 
any  one  by  arguments,  and  still  less  do  I  want  to  persuade.  I 
want  only  to  be  a  witness  because  I  feel  in  the  depths  of  my  soul 
the  need  of  professing  my  faith  and  my  conviction.  The  human 
aspect  of  war  and  peace  fills  my  heart  and  head,  not  the 
scientific  aspect  of  academic  history. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  at  the  time  when  this 
book  was  written,  America  was  officially  neutral.  Yet 
though  technically  at  peace,  she  was  ravaged  by  the  pas- 
sions of  war  just  as  were  the  battlefields  of  Europe. 

Peace— we  had  it,  and  we  hardly  knew  it.  We  do  not  think  of 
the  fresh  air  we  breathe  and  of  the  sunlight  which  floods  about 
us  and  of  the  health  of  our  body  until  pure  air  or  light  or 
strength  are  failing.  Now  the  air  is  filled  with  miasmas  and 
about  us  is  darkness  and  our  strength  is  broken;  and  suddenly 
we  know  how  glorious  and  inspiring  it  was  to  breathe  and  to 
see  and  to  feel  the  peace  of  the  civilized  world.    It  was  not 

270 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

only  a  peace  which  protected  the  house  and  the  body;  it  was  a 
peace  which  ennobled  the  mind. 

Thus  spoke  the  sorrowing  philosopher;  and  further: 
**  Passionate  hatred  has  taken  possession  of  the  sober  and 
quiet  pilgrim  of  yesterday.  The  rifle  bullets  kill  men  of 
flesh  and  blood,  but  the  thoughts  that  curse  bring  thou- 
sandfold greater  misery.'*  To  him  it  seemed  that  America 
had  the  glorious  opportunity  of  remaining  above  the  con- 
flict and  eventually  making  peace,  and  the  loss  of  this  op- 
portunity, which  America's  unique  historical  and  geo- 
graphical position  seemed  to  demand,  was  to  him  a  pro- 
found disappointment.  Yet  it  will  be  seen  that,  before 
the  book  of  his  life  was  closed,  this  hope  of  America 
as  peacemaker,  though  slain,  was  not  dead,  but  rose  again 
with  daring  optimism. 

In  his  attempt,  throughout  the  volume,  to  find  the  rea- 
son why  men  within  America  were  **so  hopelessly  torn 
asunder,''  Miinsterberg  wrote  a  chapter  on  '*The  So-called 
Facts,"  which  is  the  contribution  of  the  psychologist.  He 
knew  the  complexity  of  the  mind,  and  he  realized  the  sig- 
nificant complexity  of  diplomats'  minds,  which  may  be 
perfectly  sincere  in  opposite  directions. 

Such  melodrama-psychology  which  knows  only  angels  and  liars 
is  too  clumsy.  Hence,  even  if  we  analyze  the  multi-colored 
books  of  documents,  we  cannot  find  the  real  facts  and  cannot 
discover  what  this  or  that  statesman  really  wanted.  He  probably 
wanted  many  opposite  things;  that  is,  opposite  ideas  were 
scattered  in  his  mind  and  each  had  in  itself  the  tendency  to 
become  effective.  .  .  . 

But,  above  all,  he  knew  that  those  facts  are  most  easily 
assimilated  which  the  mind  is  ready  to  receive,  whereas  the 
others  are  ignored.  Moreover,  facts  change  as  they  are 
seen  through  the  spectacles  of  different  national,  racial, 
or  social  prejudices.  **You  &a.y  the  facts  are  mountains 
firm  as  rocks:  clouds  they  are.    ^Do  you  see  yonder  cloud 

271 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


that  is  almost  in  the  shape  of  a  camel — methinks  it  is  like 
a  weasel — or  like  a  whale — they  fool  me  at  the  top  of 
my  bent.'  *'  Furthermore,  leading  men  of  letters  have 
praised  sincerely  in  time  of  peace  the  same  object  that 
they  denounce  or  belittle  with  equal  sincerity  in  time  of 
war.  They  contradict  themselves,  but  know  it  not.  **Are 
facts  only  fables  and  fanciest  asks  the  psychologist. 
**Does  every  untruth  really  become  a  fact  if  it  is  repeated 
often  enough?  Does  only  the  one  fact  stand:  that  there 
are  no  facts  T* 

In  the  chapter  on  '*The  Highest  Values''  not  Miinster- 
berg  the  psychologist,  but  Miinsterberg  the  philosopher 
spoke.  He  ascribed  the  difficulty  of  understanding  an- 
other nation's  motives  and  actions  to  the  difference  of 
the  highest  values  in  which  natictos  believe.  Of  this 
national  philosophy  the  majority  of  citizens  may  not 
be  conscious  at  all,  yet  it  is  ultimately  the  motive  power 
that  determines  and  interprets  all  acts.  Miinsterberg  con- 
trasted the  utilitarian  standard  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  world, 
which  aims  toward  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  greatest 
number  with  the  goal  of  the  Teutonic  nations  who  believe 
in  the  service  of  ideals,  regardless  of  the  profit  or  pleasure 
to  individuals.  There  is  then  an  obvious  dilemma:  if 
those  highest  values  differ  by  which  deeds  are  measured, 
how  can  one  judge  actions  at  allT  To  this  the  philosopher 
replied  that  there  is  one  highest  moral  law,  binding  for  all, 
and  that  is  the  fulfillment  of  its  duty  as  each  nation  sees 
it.  If  the  American  public  had  realized  that  in  the  great 
struggle  each  nation  was  trying  to  do  its  duty,  much  partial 
and  impassioned  judgment  might  have  been  avoided.  And 
America  seemed  to  Miinsterberg  the  chosen  nation  for 
such  spiritual  neutrality  because  with  its  heterogeneous 
population  it  should  not  be  difficult  to  blend  both  of  the 
highest  values — that  of  utilitarianism  and  that  of  philo- 
sophic idealism. 

272 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

Other  chapters  in  the  book  will  be  of  great  historical 
value  when  the  passions  and  prejudices  that  are  not  only 
war's  accompaniment  but  also  its  aftermath  shall  have 
cooled.  They  will  be  valujable  as  expressions  of  living 
convictions  that  remain  historic  truths,  regardless  of  sub- 
sequent events.  Indeed,  the  history  of  convictions  is  more 
significant  than  the  history  of  facts,  or  rather,  as  Miinster- 
berg declared  himself,  facts  are  determined  by  convictions. 
The  chapter  on  England  ends  with  this  outlook: 

But  peace  will  come.  Hatred  and  injustice  will  become  silent 
on  both  sides  when  the  thunder  of  the  cannons  is  stilled.  Eng- 
land and  Germany  will  respect  each  other  and  will  acknowledge 
that  each  was  trying  to  fulfill  a  great  historic  mission.  But 
Americans  ought  to  appreciate  the  lofty  meaning  of  this  tre- 
mendous battle  long  before  the  war  comes  to  an  end.  The 
more  deeply  they  feel  that  the  two  nations,  both  eternally 
valuable  for  the  ideal  meaning  of  mankind,  are  doing  their  God- 
given  duties  in  loyalty  and  devotion,  the  more  they  can  con- 
tribute to  the  coming  of  the  day  of  peace. 

There  is  a  chapter  on  the  letters  the  author  had  re- 
ceived— undercurrents  of  fearless  sentiments  in  the  swift 
stream  of  public  opinion — and  there  is  the  final  chapter 
called  ** To-morrow."  In  that  heavily  veiled  '^To-mor- 
row" — • 


Peace  can  come  only  from  within.  As  soon  as  the  civiUzed 
nations  are  filled  with  the  real  sense  of  inner  peace,  the  time 
will  come  when  international  agreements  will  naturally  grow; 
they  may  help  to  postpone  martial  conflicts  and  to  find  com- 
promises where  compromises  are  possible.  But  they  must  be 
the  ripe  fruit;  they  must  be  the  end,  not  the  beginning. 

And  this  seems  almost  like  an  unconscious  prophecy : 

To  start  with  such  agreements  when  the  tears  of  the  war  are 
not  yet  dried  would  be  only  a  new  diplomatic  mistake  at  the 
end  of  the  war  added  to  the  many  at  the  war^s  beginning.    It 

273 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

would  be  inexcusable  if  the  conferences  which  must  end  this 
world  war  were  burdened  with  labors  to  find  new  international 
schemes  by  which  the  peace  of  the  future  may  be  secured. 
Two  years  after  the  date  when  the  last  prisoner  has  gone  home, 
it  will  be  right  to  negotiate  about  new  international  forms  to 
insure  international  good-fellowship. 

In  this  hope  for  the  future  of  Europe,  Miinsterberg 
once  more  drew  the  distinction  that  he  had  often  empha- 
sized, between  what  he  called  *' colorless  cosmopolitanism'* 
and  that  internationalism  which  allows  each  nation  to  live 
out  its  historical  destiny,  but  which  bases  the  peace  of  the 
nations  on  good-will  and  intelligent  and  sympathetic  under- 
standing of  one  another's  motives  and  ideals.  Most 
sorrowfully  Miinsterberg  lamented  the  fate  of  those  who 
had  worked  for  the  harmonious  relations  of  two  countries 
only  to  see  their  life  work  fall  in  ruins.  There  is  nothing 
left  in  this  dilemma  but  the  desperate  hope :  *  *  From  the 
blood-soaked  battlefields  of  the  intellect  a  lasfmg  peace 
will  spring.*' 

In  the  summer  of  1915,  Miinsterberg  found  his  much  , 
needed  rest,  that  is,  the  small  rest  that  his  ever-working 
brain  allowed,  in  the  seclusion  of  Clifton,  where  the  bright 
shore,  serene  fields,  and  friendly  neighbors  offered  their 
narcotics  and  seemed  to  mock  at  strife.  During  this 
summer  Miinsterberg  wrote  five  essays,  which,  with  the 
exception  of  one,  were  quite  detached  from  all  political 
excitement.  He  also  began  his  studies  in  the  psycho- 
logical aspect  of  the  photoplay  art,  which  will  be  con- 
sidered later.  These  studies  involved  some  hours  of  alter- 
nate amusement  and  boi'edom  at  moving-picture  theaters, 
and  this  distraction,  together  with  the  gentle  pastime  of 
photography,  gave  his  harrowed  nerves  some  needed  re- 
laxation. 

Another  summer  occupation  was  less  restful.    Not  far 
from   Miinsterberg 's  ccyttage,  in  a  neighboring  town,  a 

274 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


young  manufacturer  was  making  instruments  of  war  that 
he  supplied  to  the  Allies.  The  young  manufacturer  was 
subject  to  a  grave  nervous  disorder  that  brought  him  in- 
tense suffering  and  pain.  He  came  to  Munsterberg  for 
help.  The  first  consultation  led  to  a  regular,  or  rather, 
irregul^,  therapeutic  treatment,  for  it  happened  not  in- 
frequently that  late  on  a  calm  summer's  night,  Miinster- 
berg was  summoned  to  the  relief  of  the  sufferer.  He  never 
refused  to  go,  but  he  most  emphatically  refused  to  receive 
any  compensation  whatever  for  his  aid,  even  in  the  form 
of  gifts,  at  the  time  and  in  the  future. 

Serene  and  friendly  though  all  the  surroundings  of 
Miinsterberg 's  summer  life  had  been,  the  post  office  was 
only  three  minutes  from  his  door,  and  into  the  pigeon- 
holes of  that  little  building  penetrated  the  evil  rumors  of 
the  great  arguing,  fighting,  maligning  world.  Reporters, 
too,  with  their  winged-lVIercury  heels,  found  their  way  to 
the  little  red  orchard  cottage. 

Miinsterberg  accordingly  determined  to  shake  off  private 
care — the  world's  woe  he  never  could  forget — ^and  to  seek 
refreshment  in  a  little  voyage  to  Mount  Desert.  But  sor- 
row pursued  him.  At  Bar  Harbor,  on  returning  from  a 
walk  along  the  cliffs,  he  took  up  a  Boston  Transcript  in 
the  hotel  reading  room  and  on  the  first  page  he  read  a 
cable  report  that  his  oldest  brother,  Otto,  of  Danzig,  had 
died.  This  news  was  a  great  shock  to  Hugo,  for  whom  his 
oldest  brother  had  taken  the  place  of  a  father  in  his  youth, 
and  who  had  kept  for  him  a  rare  devotion ;  and  this  shock 
and  grief  was  intensified  by  the  way  in  which  the  news 
reached  him  through  the  newspaper. 

Although  Miinsterberg,  as  men  say,  *' never  got  over'* 
this  grief,  he  returned  with  external  cheer  and  calm  to 
the  tasks  still  before  him.  Before  the  end  of  the  college 
vacation,  he  once  more  wrote  a  timely  article  that  helped 
to  make  the  cauldron  of  public  opinion  bubble.    *'The 

275 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


Impeachment  of  the  German-Americans'*  appeared  on 
September  19,  1915,  in  the  Sunday  Magazine  section  of 
that  paper  about  which  Miinsterberg  had  not  long  ago 
said  in  jest:  **The  Times  is  out  of  joint."  The  theory 
that  Miinsterberg  asserted  in  this  article,  a  theory  based 
on  solid  fact,  that  all  Europe  was  the  mother  country  of 
the  United  States,  was  not  here  advanced  for  the  first 
time  and  surely  not  created  under  the  stress  of  hostilities ; 
for  the  idea  had  already  found  expression  before  the  war 
in  the  essay  called  *' American  Patriotism.*'  He  was  now 
more  convinced  than  ever  that  Americans,  of  whatever 
descent  they  might  be,  should  contribute  the  special  racial 
virtues  and  ideals  of  their  fathers*  countries.  ** America 
does  not  mean  a  reminiscence,  but  a  task.*' 

This  article,  which  appeared  in  the  Times  and  the  Sun- 
day Herald  at  the  same  time,  made  a  great  stir  and  in- 
spired many  responses,  among  them  an  article  by  Professor 
Albert  Bushnell  Hart,  to  which  Miinsterberg  replied  in 
order  to  clear  up  a  misunderstanding  of  the  premises. 

In  the  fall  of  1915  Miinsterberg  returned  to  Cambridge 
and  to  the  academic  routine.  The  Psychological  Labora- 
tory was  filled  with  students,  and  so  were  his  lecture- 
rooms.  It  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  Miinsterberg  in 
this  restless  and  passionate  time  that  his  students  remained 
loyal  and  undisturbed,  in  contrast  to  many  of  his  col- 
leagues. As  Miinsterberg  walked  to  and  from  his  work 
through  the  serene  streets  of  Cambridge,  where  he  had 
walked  for  twenty-five  years,  men  who  formerly  had 
stopped  him  with  a  pleasant  word  or  a  joke,  now  passed 
by  with  a  stiff  bow,  and  still  others  passed  without  bowing 
at  all.  **Et  tu.  Brute!**  was  the  leading  motive  of  those 
Cambridge  walks.  Nevertheless,  though  these  intended 
insults  must  have  worn  gradually  on  the  most  robust 
nerves  and  surely  on  those  of  one  who  was  living  under 

276 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


constant  stress,  the  philosopher  did  not  allow  himself  to 
be  downcast  by  disagreeable  encounters. 

As  in  the  previous  year,  it  was  at  home  that  Miinsterberg 
had  to  suffer  most,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  not  a  word  of 
politics  or  international  affairs  was  breathed  in  his  class- 
rooms. Outside  of  Boston  and  Cambridge  he  was  eagerly 
sought,  though  he  declined  most  invitations  to  lecture.  In 
December,  1915,  he  spoke  at  the  Brooklyn  Institute  to  an 
audience  of  three  thousand. 

Before  the  eventful  year  had  drawn  to  a  close,  Miinster- 
berg had  written  one  more  article  that  was  taken  up  by 
the  newspapers  and  roused  much  stormy  comment.  It 
was  an  open  letter  printed  in  The  Fatherland  that  referred 
to  the  coming  elections  of  1916  and  the  dilemma  of  the 
German-American  voter.  This  was  at  a  time  when  Roose- 
velt had  by  characteristically  violent  tirades  against  the 
** hyphen'*  made  the  German  element  of  the  population 
hostile  toward  him,  and  the  supporters  of  Wilson  there- 
fore felt  free  to  indulge  in  denunciations  of  the  German- 
Americans  because  the  latter  would  not  vote  for  Roosevelt 
anyway.  As  a  warning  against  this  situation,  Miinsterberg 
reminded  the  Americans  of  German  descent  that  after 
all  the  Rough  Rider's  bite  was  not  as  bad  as  his  bark; 
that  it  was  natural  for  him  to  use  temperamental  ad- 
jectives once  circumstances  at  the  opening  of  the  war  had 
launched  him  in  the  Allies'  camp.  This  letter,  which  was 
written  chiefly  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  Wilson  supporters, 
caused  excited  protests,  largely  from  the  German-Amer- 
icans who  had  been  too  gravely  wounded  to  tolerate  such 
a  portrait  of  the  Colonel.  Roosevelt  *s  own  reaction  is  ex- 
pressed in  a  letter:  Oyster  Bat, 

Long  Island,  N.  Y. 
January   19,  1916. 
My  dear  Professor  Mijnsterberg  : — 

Your  letter  interests  me,  touches  me,  and  puzzles  me.    The 

277 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

journalist  who  told  you  that  I  was  much  astonished  by  your 
statement  expressed  the  truth  very  mildly.  I  was  dumbfounded. 
I  have  hoped  that  after  the  war  is  over  my  many  German 
friends  may  resume  cordial  relations  with  me,  (and  it  has  been 
a  sincere  grief  to  me  to  have  to  sunder  myself  from  them) — 
but  I  have  had  no  idea  that  they  would  do  so  while  the  war 
was  going  on.  Moreover,  it  seems  to  me  that  your  openly 
expressed  views,  and  my  no  less  openly  expressed  views,  are  as 
far  apart  as  the  poles. 


Then  follow  six  pages  of  vehement,  spontaneous  as- 
sertion of  his  doctrine,  which  is  too  familiar  to  the  public 
to  need  repetition,  ending  with  no  less  strongly  expressed 
comments  on  the  administration  in  power. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  when  Miinsterberg  was  not 
teaching  in  the  laboratory,  or  lecturing  to  his  classes,  he 
was  wholly  absorbed  in  the  problems  of  the  war.  Other 
interests  still  found  their  way  into  his  so  well  organized 
mind;  and,  indeed,  it  was  largely  for  the  sake  of  his  soul's 
health  that  the  psychologist  prescribed  for  himself  certain 
distractions  in  the  fields  of  science  and  of  general  interests. 

Although,  after  the  appearance  of  Psychology:  General 
and  Applied,  Miinsterberg  wrote  no  scientific  book  on  a 
larger  scale,  he  brought  out  several  shorter  publications. 
First,  however,  must  be  mentioned  the  fourth  volume  of 
the  Harvard  Psychological  Studies,  which  appeared  in 
November,  1915,  the  last  volume  edited  by  Miinsterberg. 

In  January,  1915,  Colonel  George  Harvey's  North  Ameri- 
can Review  celebrated  its  100th  anniversary,  and  to  mark 
the  jubilee,  the  number  brought  out  a  specially  chosen 
array  of  contributors,  including  William  D.  Howells, 
Julius  H.  Ward,  Henry  Mills  Alden,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge, 
Agnes  Repplier,  and  others.  Among  them  was  Miinster- 
berg, as  philosopher,  with  an  essay  on  **The  Return  of  the 
Soul."  **  'Morley  was  dead,  to  begin  with,'  "  so  the  essay 
starts  out  **  .  .  .  but  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  about 

278 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


it — ^the  soul  was  as  dead  as  a  door  nail."  Then  the 
psychologist  traces  the  means  of  explaining  mental  life 
which  indeed  link  every  physical  phenomena  to  a  phys- 
ical process.  Yet,  though  mental  life  cannot  be  ex- 
plained by  means  of  a  soul,  it  must  be  understood  with- 
out explanation  of  any  kind,  through  its  inner  meaning. 
In  the  life  of  meaning  and  purpose  the  soul  holds  its  own. 
'*The  meaning  of  inner  life  will  soon  be  admitted  through 
the  wide-open  door  of  the  temple  of  science.  Then  we 
shall  have  two  independent  systems  of  psychology — a 
causal  and  a  purposive  one."  .  .  .  *'Both  are  perfectly 
justified  as  long  as  they  are  not  carelessly  mixed  and  as 
long  as  neither  is  pushed  forward  as  complete." 

During  November  and  December,  1915,  Miinsterberg 
dictated  a  book  at  the  request  of  the  La  Salle  Extension 
University  for  the  use  of  its  students  who  desired  to  learn 
the  application  of  psychology  to  commercial  life.  This 
book,  called  Business  Psychology,  is  written  in  a  simple, 
direct  style  which  any  high  school  graduate  can  under- 
stand ;  yet  it  is  not  a  superficial  skimming  of  the  subject, 
but  leads  the  student  carefully  through  the  principal 
topics  of  scientific  psychology,  gives  him  a  thorough  grasp 
of  the  function  of  psychology,  of  the  possibilities  for  its 
application,  and,  finally,  explains  the  methods  by  which 
psychology  may  help  in  the  choice  of  vocations  and  in 
the  problems  of  work  and  business.  There  are  illustra- 
tions by  photographs  of  the  use  of  certain  psychological 
laboratory  instruments.  Above  all,  there  are,  at  the  end 
of  each  chapter,  test  questions  for  the  student  on  the 
contents  of  the  foregoing  pages.  This  book,  which  was 
used  by  the  La  Salle  Extension  University  as  one  of  its 
courses,  became  popular  and  proved  a  useful  contribution 
toward  the  education  of  practical  American  youth. 

In  the  summer  of  1915  Miinsterberg  wrote  a  paper  called 
*'How  Men  Differ"  in  which  he  gave  the  results  of  an 

279 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


experiment  made  with  advanced  students  in  the  laboratory, 
each  of  whom  gave  judgments,  as  objective  as  possible, 
about  his  fellows,  and  his  own  mental  qualifications.  The 
results  showed  that  even  among  the  most  highly  educated 
observers,  judgment  of  others  and  of  self  in  regard  to 
such  qualifications  as  power  of  attention,  literary  or 
mechanical  ability,  etc.,  is  very  unreliable,  and  that  the 
only  thoroughly  accurate  tests  of  such  qualities  must  be 
made  by  exact  laboratory  methods. 

Another  article  of  the  same  summer  was  based  on  a 
concentrated  study  of  the  new  method  of  multiplication 
proposed  by  Ferrol,  which  was  just  then  introducing 
revolutionary  ideas  into  the  world  of  arithmetic  and  of 
education.  Miinsterberg  was  convinced  that  the  new 
method  had  advantages  over  the  old,  and  he  presented 
his  championship  in  an  article  called  **  Efficiency  in  the 
three  R's.''  An  article  on  **EflSciency  in  Advertising," 
also  written  in  the  summer  1915,  appeared  in  Printer's 
Ink. 

If  the  passions  of  the  war  thrust  themselves  into  the 
foreground  of  the  public  mind  during  these  last  years, 
there  were  nevertheless  plenty  of  people  left  who  still 
sought  Miinsterberg  as  psychologist.  In  January,  1916, 
he  addressed  the  New  York  Cornell  Club;  in  February 
of  the  same  year  he  spoke  on  ** Psychology  and  Light*'  to 
the  Illuminating  Engineering  Society  at  a  meeting  in 
New  York  in  honor  of  Edison.  This  address  was  an 
important  contribution  toward  the  psychological  problems 
of  street  lighting,  not  so  much  because  of  the  results  of 
experiments,  but  because  of  the  laboratory  methods  pointed 
out.  Psychology  as  applied  to  those  public  utilities  that 
serve  man's  senses  was  coming  into  its  own.  In  the 
summer  of  1914,  Dr.  Burtt,  an  assistant  of  Miinsterberg 's 
at  the  Harvard  laboratory,  was  invited  by  the  Joint  Street 
Lighting  Committee  to  make  experiments  on  the  effects 

280 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


of  various  kinds  of  street  illumination.  These  experi- 
ments Dr.  Burtt  practiced  in  the  laboratory  under  con- 
ditions that  artificially  reproduced  those  of  the  streets, 
and  he  was  there  enabled  to  solve  complex  problems  which 
the  conditions  outside  of  the  laboratory  did  not  allow. 
Another  assistant  of  Miinsterberg 's,  Mr.  Pressy,  was  en- 
gaged in  measuring  the  psychological  effects  of  red,  green, 
yellow,  blue,  and  white  lights.  There  were  infinite  pos- 
sibilities of  applying  the  knowledge  that  the  laboratory 
experiments  might  produce,  not  only  to  street  lighting, 
but  also  to  indoor  lighting,  to  the  use  of  light  signals,  to 
film  effects,  etc. 

An  outward  expression  of  the  growing  importance  at- 
tached to  the  help  of  psychology  in  industrial  life  was 
the  founding  of  the  Economic  Psychology  Association. 
Miinsterberg  spoke  at  its  first  meeting  in  New  Ybrk  in 
1916. 

Miinsterberg 's  pioneer  spirit  was  not  content.  A  new 
interest  had  taken  hold  of  him,  one  that  appealed  at  the 
same  time  to  the  psychologist  and  to  the  lover  of  art — 
an  interest  in  the  photoplay.  In  this  new  study  Miinster- 
berg sought  distraction  for  himself  from  the  wearing 
anxieties  caused  by  the  international  stress,  and  at  the 
same  time  hoped  to  make  the  imagination  of  the  public 
link  his  name  with  a  more  serene  interest. 

Miinsterberg  had  not  been  a  ** movie"  patron;  indeed, 
he  had  looked  upon  motion  pictures,  with  the  exception  of 
travel  pictures  like  Ramy's  Hunt,  as  rather  in  a  class 
with  vaudeville,  which  he  never  approached.  On  a 
journey,  however,  he  saw  Annette  Kellermann's  mermaid 
pranks  in  ** Neptune's  Daughter,"  and  this  not  only  de- 
lighted him,  but  opened  his  eyes  to  the  distinctive  character 
and  possibilities  of  the  photoplay.  During  the  summer 
of  1915  he  spent  many  hours  in  motion-picture  houses. 
In  June  of  that  year  the  Vitagraph  Company  in  New 

281 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

York  showed  him,  with  ready  hospitality,  its  studios,  its 
methods,  its  actors  and  actresses.  A  snapshot  picture  was 
taken  of  Miinsterberg  listening  attentively  to  Anita 
Stewart.  He  was  an  eager  pupil  and  the  more  he  studied 
this  fascinating  field,  the  more  he  was  convinced  of  the 
uniqueness  of  its  artistic  mission.  The  photoplay  was  not, 
what  it  first  seemed  to  be,  a  substitute  for  the  spoken 
drama,  any  more  than  sculpture  is  a  substitute  for  paint- 
ing. Since  all  art  is  a  representation  of  life,  with  certain 
definite  limitations,  so  the  photoplay  is  defined  by  the 
absence  of  depth  and  color  and  voice,  yet  given  infinite 
possibilities  of  expression  through  its  peculiar  attributes. 
There  is  the  power  of  commanding  attention  toward  some 
isolated  detail  through  the  use  of  the  '*close-up'';  there 
is  the  reenforcement  of  memory  through  flashing  scenes 
of  bygone  events  into  the  midst  of  the  story;  there  is 
the  freedom  from  the  limitations  of  space,  by  which  simul- 
taneous events  may  be  shown  in  quickly  alternating  pic- 
tures; emotional  effects  may  be  heightened  by  the  rapid 
and  skillful  succession  of  scenes.  All  in  all,  the  photo- 
play has  its  own  characteristics,  its  own  possibilities,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  these  should  not  be  utilized  in  the 
service  of  the  highest  art. 

In  the  Cosmopolites  Magazine  for  December,  1915, 
Miinsterberg  published  a  popular  article  called  **Why  We 
Go  to  the  Movies*'  which  heralded  his  book  on  the  subject. 
Between  October  and  the  end  of  December,  1915,  Miinster- 
berg wrote  a  volume  of  232  pages  that  appeared  in  April, 
1916,  under  the  title  The  Photoplay y  a  Psychological  Study. 
This  book  contains  an  Introduction  of  two  chapters  that 
gives  the  history  of  the  moving-picture  art :  one  the  history 
of  the  outer,  that  is,  the  technical,  development  from  the 
first  simple  devices  for  producing  the  illusion  of  move- 
ment, invented  in  the  first  half  of  the  19th  century;  the 
other,  the  history  of  the  inner  development,  that  is,  of 

282 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

the  contents  of  the  pictures  after  the  perfection  of  the 
technique   had   granted  free   scope   to   the   imagination. 
After  the  Introduction,  the  book  is  divided  into  two  parts, 
**The  Psychology  of  the  Photoplay"  and  *'The  Esthetics 
of  the  Photoplay.'*    In  the  first  part  the  psychologist 
explains  the  mental  processes  of  the  spectator  as  affected 
by  the  ways  and  means  of  the  moving  pictures.    Thus 
he  discusses  the  perception  of  depth  and  movement,  the 
acts  of  attention,  the  effect  of  photoplay  devices  on  the 
memory  and  the  imagination  and  finally  on  the  emotion. 
Such  an  explanation  of  the  part  that  the  human  mind  it- 
self plays  when  it  enjoys  a  performance  was  the  contri- 
bution of  the  scientific  psychologist.    Yet  the  philosopher 
in  Miinsterberg  never  allowed  the  scientist  to  say  the 
last  word  on  any  problem  of  real  life.    It  is  the  philoso- 
pher and  the  lover  of  beauty  who,  in  the  first  chapter 
of  the  second  part,  sets  forth  *  *  The  Purpose  of  Art.  *  *   *  *  The 
work  of  art  shows  us  the  things  and  events  perfectly  com- 
plete in  themselves,  freed  from  all  connections  which  lead 
beyond  their  own  limits;  that  is,  in  perfect  isolation." 
This  isolation  is  to  secure  that  harmony  and  perfection 
which  only  rare  moments  of  real  life  can  give.    *^That  rest- 
ful happiness  which  the  beautiful  landscape  or  the  har- 
monious life  relation  can  furnish  us  in  blessed  instants  of 
our  struggling  life  is  secured  as  a  joy  forever  when  the 
painter  or  the  sculptor,  the  dramatist  or  the  poet,  the 
composer  or  the  photoplaywright,  recomposes  nature  and 
life  and  shows  us  a  unity  which  does  not  lead  beyond  itself, 
but  is  in  itself  perfectly  harmonious."    Artistic  isolation 
requires  some   restriction  in  the  means  of   reproducing 
life;  and  these  limitations  accordingly  are  the  source  of 
strength  in  any  form  of  art.    **A  work  of  art  may  and 
must  start  from  something  which  awakens  in  us  the  in- 
terests of  reality  and  which  contains  traits  of  reality,  and 
to  that  extent  it  cannot  avoid  some  imitation.    But  it 

283 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


becomes  art  just  in  so  far  as  it  overcomes  reality,  stops 
imitating   and   leaves   the   imitated   reality   behind    it." 
These  conditions  the  photoplay,  with  its  obvious  limitations, 
fulfills,  and  rises  thereby  far  above  an  imitation  of  the 
spoken  drama.     *^The  drama  and  the  photoplay  are  two 
coordinated  arts,  each  perfectly  valuable  in  itself/'    A 
consideration  of  ''The  Means  of  the  Various  Arts*'  leads 
to  a  study  of  the  peculiar  ''Means  of  the  Photoplay." 
This  youngest  of  the  arts  is  neither  music  nor  drama  nor 
painting;  but  "it  shares  something  with  all  of  them" 
and  it  has  its  own  laws.    The  conclusion   at  which  we 
arrive  is  that  "the  photoplay  shows  us  a  significant  con- 
flict of  human  actions  in  moving  pictures  which,  freed  from 
the  physical  forms  of  space,  time,  and  causality,  are  ad- 
justed to  the  free  play  of  our  mental  experiences  and  which 
reach  complete  isolation  from  the  practical  world  through 
the  perfect  unity  of  plot  and  pictorial  appearance."    We 
realize  the  need   of  serious  photoplay  writing   by  true 
"photopoets"  who  recognize  the  special  demands  of  the 
art,  so  that  the  dramatization  of  novels  or  the  bringing  on 
to  the  screen  of  plays  not  intended  for  it  will  no  longer 
be  necessary ;  we  realize  also  that  long  explanatory  leaders 
should  be  eliminated  as  much  as  possible,  and  good  ac- 
companjdng  music  should  be  introduced.    Finally,  in  "The 
Function  of  the  Photoplay,"  we  are  reminded  of  the  great 
power  for  good  which  a  form  of  entertainment  that  appeals 
to  great  masses  may  exert.    This  good  lies  not  so  much  in 
the  instruction  that  the  picture.]  may  impart,  or  in  the 
morally  wholesome  air  that  they  may  and  ought  to  offer, 
but  more^  especially  in  the  education   for  true  beauty. 
"Only  the  future  can  teach-  us  whether  it  will  become  a 
great  art,  whether  a  Leonardo,  a  Shakespeare,  a  Mozart 
will  ever  be  born  for  it."    Yet  "for  the  first  time  the 
psychologist  can  obsen^e  the  starting  of  an  entirely  new 
ffisthetic  development,  a  new  form  of  true  beauty  in  the 

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UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

turmoil  of  a  technical  age,  created  by  its  very  technic 
and  yet  more  than  any  other  art  destined  to  overcome 
outer  nature  by  the  free  and  joyful  play  of  the  mind." 

Miinsterberg's  great  hope  for  the  future  of  the  moving 
pictures  thus  centered  round  the  photoplay  as  art.  Never- 
theless he  thought  the  plan  of  making  it  a  vehicle  for 
public  instruction  also  worthy  of  encouragement.  When 
the  Paramount  Company  started  its  Pictographs  or  the 
' '  magazine  on  the  screen ' '  for  public  instruction  in  science, 
history,  current  events,  etc.,  it  asked  Miinsterberg  to  be 
among  the  first  contributors.  The  psychologist  prepared 
a  series  of  pictures  which  he  called  "Testing  the  Mind" 
and  which  were  to  introduce  a  new  element,  namely,  the 
active  mental  participation  of  the  audience.  The  methods 
of  testing  attention,  memory,  constructive  imagination, 
capacity  for  making  quick  estimates,  etc.,  which  he  had 
worked  out  for  purposes  of  vocational  guidance,  were  now 
presented  in  the  form  of  pictures.  A  puzzle,  as,  for 
instance,  a  jumble  of  letters,  which,  if  assorted,  would 
spell  the  name  of  a  city,  or  a  room  full  of  people  whose 
number  is  to  be  estimated,  is  thrown  upon  the  screen  and, 
after  an  exposure  long  enough  to  let  the  audience  answer 
the  question,  the  correct  solution  is  given.  This  unique 
feature  was  received  with  enthusiasm.  An  ardent  article 
in  "Motography"  expressed  the  significance  of  the  novelty 
in  this  way:  "Intellectually,  the  world  has  been  divided 
into  two  classes — the  'highbrows'  and  the  'lowbrows.' 
The  Pictograph  will  bring  these  two  brows  together." 
Miinsterberg  also  began  to  work  out  graphic  ways  of 
presenting  history  on  the  screen,  but  his  efforts  in  this 
direction  were  never  completed. 

His  new  interest  in  this  cheerful  art  brought  Miinster- 
berg many  letters  from  men  who  had  the  future  of  the 
moving  pictures  at  heart,  letters  that  he  thoroughly  en- 

285 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


joyed.    A  letter  to  Mr.  Edwards  is  merely  an  example 
of  the  correspondence  that  afforded  him  much  pleasure. 

Cahbbidoe,  Massachusetts, 
AprU  5,  1916. 

My  dear  Sib: 

In  going  over  some  piles  of  old  letters,  I  stumble  upon  a 
letter  from  you  written  on  February  16th  which  bears  no  mark 
of  having  been  answered.  If  that  is  the  case,  I  am  very  sorry 
that  you  remained  six  weeks  without  reply.  Yet  as  your  prob- 
lem is  not  one  for  a  single  day  or  week,  a  word  of  interest  in  your 
plans  may  still  be  in  order. 

I  have  given  much  attention  to  moving-picture  problems  in 
recent  times.  The  book  The  Photoplay:  A  Psychological  Study, 
which  will  appear  at  the  end  of  this  week  with  D.  Appleton  and 
Co.,  New  York,  is  an  external  symptom  of  it.  But  I  have  also 
approached  your  special  field,  the  educational  picture,  inas- 
much as  I  have  furnished  the  Paramount  Pictures  Corporation 
with  material  for  a  series  of  psychological  tests  on  the  screen, 
which  appear  in  their  weekly  Paramount  Pictograph.  As  far 
as  I  can  judge,  these  psychological  test  demonstrations  in  mov- 
ing-picture form  have  stirred  up  a  very  considerable  interest 
for  mental  life  in  many  cities,  and  this  success  encourages  me 
greatly  in  the  behef  that  the  film  can  become  a  tremendous 
educational  agency. 

For  this  reason  I  endorse  most  heartily  your  plan  to  special- 
ize in  educational  films.  The  idea  of  presenting  the  Montes- 
sori  system,  for  instance,  seems  to  me  excellent,  and  every  move- 
ment toward  bringing  geography  to  the  attention  of  the  masses 
in  a  striking  way  certainly  deserves  the  warmest  sympathy,  as 
the  defects  of  popular  education  are  nowhere  so  glaring  as  in 
geography. 

I  think  the  greatest  trouble  in  the  moving-picture  world  to- 
day is  the  lack  of  discrimination  and  differentiation.  While 
everybody  in  a  large  city  knows  which  theatres  appeal  to  serious 
taste  and  which  to  mere  vulgarity,  or  which  magazines  are  of 
high  value  and  which  are  cheap  and  trivial,  nobody  knows 
what  he  will  get  in  the  next  moving-picture  show.  This  lack  of 
differentiation  is  certainly  a  symptom  of  the  crude  state  of  the 
moving-picture  industry  as  yet.  In  a  few  years  such  differentia- 
tion will  be  demanded  everywhere,  and  one  of  the  first  steps 
toward  it  ought  to  be   a  clean  division  of  labor  among  the 

286 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


producing  companies.  I  welcome  it  as  a  very  promising  step  that 
you  intend  to  specialize  in  the  educational  field  and  to  set  this 
off  as  a  great  work  of  its  own,  separated  from  the  mere  amuse- 
ment plays.  Your  chances  are  tremendous.  I  think  there  is 
hardly  a  science  which  could  not.be  cleverly  presented  in  fascin- 
ating moving  pictures.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  hear  from  you 
again. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Hugo  MOnsterberg 

Miinsterberg  was  now  invited  to  speak  on  the  Psychol- 
ogy of  the  Photoplay.  An  article  on  **  Moving  Pictures 
and  the  Child''  appeared  in  the  Mother's  Magazine,  to 
which  Miinsterberg  previously  contributed  essays  on  voca- 
tional guidance  for  boys  and  girls.  But  talking  and  writ- 
ing was  not  enough;  the  moving-picture  world,  now  that 
Miinsterberg  had  become  one  of  its  champions,  did  not 
let  him  rest,  but  made  him  a  judge  of  one  of  its  prize 
contests.  The  Traveler-Herald  offered  prizes  to  the  public 
for  the  best  scenarios,  and  Miinsterberg  was  to  be  one  of 
the  five  judges  together  with  Winthrop  Ames,  E.  Winthrop 
Sargent,  Leon  Dadmun,  and  Miss  Salita  Solano.  On  a 
hot  summer  night  on  his  veranda  in  Clifton,  he  read  the 
thirty  scenarios  sifted  from  the  great  bulk  of  competing 
literature,  and  shook  his  head  in  wonder  at  the  poor 
quality.  Within  the  last  weeks  of  his  life  he  attended  the 
** movie  ball''  at  which  the  prizes  for  the  competition  were 
given,  sitting  in  a  box  for  the  judges  of  the  contest. 

It  appears  from  the  various  activities  just  chronicled, 
that  Miinsterberg 's  ever  alert  mind  knew  no  idleness  and 
no  exclusive  preoccupation  with  any  one  interest,  however 
absorbing  it  might  be.  When  the  summer  vacation  of 
1916  came,  he  was  in  need  of  rest.  Nevertheless,  he  con-  , 
sented  to  give  a  course  of  public  lectures  at  the  Harvard 
Summer  School,  for  which  he  rode  back  and  forth  from 
Clifton.    The  last  summer  at  the  beloved  seashore  Miinster- 

287 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

berg  enjoyed  to  the  full.  The  war  clouds  that  had 
threatened  most  darkly  in  the  spring  were  now  lifted  and 
the  danger  of  America's  entrance  into  the  war  seemed 
happily  removed.  Hugo's  thoughts  were  directed  toward 
the  future,  his  spirits  were  buoyed  up  by  hope.  So  he 
took  his  accustomed  solitary  walks  on  the  long,  beautiful 
beach  between  Clifton  and  Swampscott;  he  sat  on  his 
piazza,  dictating  to  his  secretary.  Miss  Wilkins,  or  reading 
with  a  notebook  at  his  side,  and  let  his  eyes  wander  con- 
tentedly over  the  peaceful  field  before  him  and  the  long 
row  of  wind-touched  willows,  or  watched  the  play  of  the 
pet  pigeons  on  the  lawn.  Sometimes  the  train  from  Boston 
that  passed  close  by  the  little  cottage  would  bring  friends 
to  spend  a  rural  day,  and  from  the  broad  piazza  behind  the 
green  vine  and  bright  fuchsias  and  geraniums,  genial  voices 
would  sound  and  merry  laughter.  A  day  spent  quietly 
upon  the  water  gave  Miinsterberg  a  special  sense  of  repose. 
One  of  the  last  voyages  of  this  kind  was  one  with  his 
daughter  to  Provincetown  and  back  on  a  cloudless  summer 
day;  and  his  last  voyage  he  made  with  his  wife  late  in 
September  on  a  visit  to  friends  in  Blue  Hill,  Maine.  The 
many  photographs  he  took  during  the  last  summer  witness 
his  never-wearying  delight  in  natural  beauty  on  land  and 
sea. 

In  August,  1916,  the  World  War  was  two  years  old,  and 
this  date  made  all  thinking  men  reflect.  The  New  York 
Times  invited  Miinsterberg  to  contribute  his  ideas  on  the 
occasion  of  this  grim  anniversary.  He  complied  with 
this  request,  and  sent  out  into  the  world  an  article  that 
set  free  a  flood  of  varied  opinions  and  that  was  character- 
istically not  a  retrospect, '  but  an  outlook,  called  *  *  The 
Allies  of  the  Future. ' ' 

In  this  meditation  Miinsterberg  spoke  for  those  who, 
with  him,  had  worked  for  and  set  their  hopes  upon 
harmony  among  England,  Germany,  and  the  United  States 

288 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

and  whose  hopes  had  been  ruined  by  the  conflagration 
of  August,  1914.     Yet  his  daring  to  hope  did  not  fail  him. 

Without  petty  prejudices  and  without  selfish  wishes  we  must 
turn  our  face  to  the  future:  what  can,  what  must  it  bring? 
But  behold!  The  future  does  not  appear  bewildering.  If  we 
look  at  it  earnestly,  the  chaos  seems  to  yield  to  order,  and  if 
we  ask  boldly  the  final  question,  we  get  one  and  only  one  simple 
clear-cut  reply:  the  ultimate  outcome  of  the  World  War  will  be 
just  what  we  had  hoped  before  the  war,  a  firm  alliance  of 
America,  Great  Britain,  and  Germany. 

Miinsterberg  was  well  aware  that  the  war  would  leave  a 
strengthened  and  deepened  nationalism  in  every  country; 
yet  **the  memory  of  the  world  disaster  cannot  fade  away 
in  the  next  generation;  the  longing  for  peace  will  curb 
every  unhealthy  outgrowth  of  nationalism  which  threatens 
to  disturb  the  development  of  neighbors.'*  But  how  is 
this  peace  to  be  secured?  The  output  of  munitions  can 
hardly  be  expected  to  stop ;  neither  can  one  have  any  more 
illusion  about  extensive  preparation  for  war  as  a  preven- 
tion of  war.  No.  ** Peace  must  be  secured  from  within; 
not  fortresses  and  guns  but  good-will  must  prevent  strife 
in  the  future."  Commerce  and  industry  must  needs  be 
international,  and  the  interests  of  the  mind  will  follow: 
** World's  fairs  and  world's  vanity  fairs  will  flourish 
again  and  the  fashions  of  the  intellectuals  will  soon  enough 
glitter  in  all  national  tints  and  hues." 

Yet  this  interdependence  did  not  prove  strong  enough 
when  the  crisis  came.  There  is  The  Hague.  But  history 
has  shown  that  when  nations  feel  their  honor  to  be  at 
stake  and  righteous  cause  opposes  righteous  cause,  no  judge 
can  make  a  decision.  Neither  would  a  year's  enforced 
delay  help  the  cause  of  peace,  for  such  a  year  would  only 
be  used,  on  the  one  hand,  for  martial  preparation,  on  the 
other,  for  fanning  the  flames  of  passion.  Moreover,  if, 
according  to  the  plan  of  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace, 

289 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


all  other  nations  would  be  obliged  to  make  war  on  a 
nation  unwilling  to  allow  a  year  of  hostile  preparation 
against  it — why  then,  what  might  otherwise  remain  a  local- 
ized conflict,  would  be  bound  to  turn  into  a  world  war. 
** Truly  such  a  'League  to  Enforce  Peace'  would  be  a 
league  to  endanger  peace.**  It  is  not  by  abstract  pre- 
scriptions and  force  from  without  that  the  world  peace 
can  be  kept;  it  must  spring  **from  a  true  living  alliance 
of  nations  .  .  .  Such  an  alliance  would  not  be  bound 
by  treaties  and  penalties,  but  by  inner  affinity,  by  loyalty  to 
common  ideas,  by  unity  of  national  mission  and  inter- 
national purpose/'  That  the  present  alliance  against 
Germany,  fashioned  for  a  special  task,  would  outlast  its 
common  activity,  Miinsterberg  could  not  believe.  Most  es- 
pecially did  a  continued  alliance  between  England  and 
her  great  rival  Russia  seem  impossible.  **For  a  day  they 
can  make  a  partnership  against  their  energetic  neighbor, 
but  when  the  local  warfare  ceases,  they  cannot  forget  the 
world  problems  which  keep  them  separated  forever.  And 
Russia's  new  partner,  Japan,  laughs.  That  is  the  future 
of  the  Allies,  but  who  will  be  the  allies  of  the  future?'* 

A  possible  alliance  between  Russia  and  Germany,  which 
Austria,  Turkey,  and  Japan  would  be  likely  to  join,  seemed 
to  Miinsterberg  fraught  with  the  gravest  dangers,  for  it 
would  inevitably  lead  to  a  war  of  revenge  against  England, 
which  would  be  a  superwar  and  involve  Asia  and  America. 
There  remains  only  one  course,  for  Germany  and  England 
to  become  allies.  America,  to  protect  itself  from  Russia 
and  Japan  united  to  uphold  the  Asiatic  Monroe  Doctrine, 
and  to  insure  the  freedom  of  its  commerce,  would  have 
to  join  the  English-German  alliance.  Such  a  league,  round 
which  the  western  European  countries  and  Austria,  as 
well  as  the  great  South  American  republics,  would  natur- 
ally cluster,  seemed  to  Miinsterberg  the  only  safeguard  of 
peace.    **If  America,  Great  Britain,  and  Germany  frankly 

290 


and  heartily  decide  to  stand  together,  the  war  of  to-day 
may  be  the  last  great  war  for  a  century.*'  To  be  sure, 
there  is  the  great  obstacle  to  such  an  alliance — ^hate. 
But  the  optimistic  philosopher  said:  **No,  and  a  hundred 
times  no,  because  British  and  Germans  and  Americans  are 
not  Sicilians  and  Corsicans  who  swear  vendetta.  .  .  . 
Among  the  many  feelings  in  which  these  three  noble 
peoples  will  find  their  union,  there  will  surely  be  the 
common  feeling  of  shame  at  the  absurd  extent  of  their 
loathing.**  There  will  be  a  realization  that  errors  were 
made  on  all  sides,  that  one  side  was  not  black  and  another 
white,  and  there  will  be  respect  for  the  achievements  of 
the  opponent.  Old  enemies,  as  history  has  always  shown, 
will  become  new  friends.  And  now  Miinsterberg  staked 
his  hope  upon  a  practical  deed  in  the  near  future : 

If  the  world  wants  real  peace  for  the  twentieth  century,  it  must 
prepare  for  it  by  the  term  of  Christmas,  1916.  The  one 
alliance  which  can  save  Western  Europe  will  not  come  if  it  is 
not  initiated  by  the  spirit  of  this  fall's  peace  negotiations.  If 
any  great  nation  leaves  the  field  humiliated,  its  rankling  wound 
will  endanger  the  future.  .  .  .  The  triumph  of  past  conflicts  was 
to  see  the  foe  in  the  dust;  in  our  age  of  the  new  idealism  the 
greatest  triumph  in  the  struggles  of  war  as  in  the  battles  of 
social  reform  is  not  to  crush  the  enemy,  but  the  enmity. 

The  salvation  for  which  he  hoped  must  come  from  Amer- 
ica. **  Sensationalists  have  tired  our  ears  with  their  cries 
of  remember  this  and  remember  that  and  remember  every- 
thing; it  is  a  greater  art  and  a  higher  task  to  forget.  If 
America  will,  both  Germany  and  England  can  for- 
get. .  .  .**  It  was  more  especially  upon  the  three  men 
of  the  hour  that  the  philosopher's  hopes  were  concen- 
trated, upon  Woodrow  Wilson,  Bethmann  HoUweg,  and 
Lloyd  George,  and  chief  among  these  was  Woodrow 
Wilson.  To  the  psychologist  it  appeared  that  **  Woodrow 
Wilson  *s  mind  is  essentially  aBsthetic. '  *    The  aesthetic  ideals 

291 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


would  enable  him,  in  spite  of  prejudice,  to  carry  out  with 
enthusiasm  the  role  that  history  was  demanding  of  him, 
the  inspired  and  glorious  role  of  mediator  among  the 
warring  nations. 

This  vision  of  peace,  sent  broadcast  before  the  passion 
ridden  world  was  really  ripe  for  it,  fell  upon  barren 
ground  and  among  thorns,  but  it  also  took  root  in  hearts 
that  still  had  strength  to  hope  and  were  starved  for  some 
to*ken  of  good-will. 

And  then,  before  the  summer  was  over,  Hugo  Miinster- 
berg  w^ote  his  last  book,  which,  like  the  hopeful  clarion 
call  of  Chanticleer,  was  to  herald  the  dawn.  It  was  called 
To-morrom,  At  first  it  was  printed  serially  during  August 
and  September  in  the  English  section  of  the  Sunday  Sup- 
plement to  the  Illinois  Staats-Zeitung,  edited  by  Dr. 
Michael  Singer;  but  in  October,  1916,  it  appeared  in  book 
form,  published  by  D.  Appleton  and  Company. 

To-morrouT  is  written  in  the  form  of  **  Letters  to  a 
Friend  in  Germany.''  The  tone  of  these  letters,  which, 
as  the  Postscript  explains,  never  reach  their  destination, 
thanks  to  the  British  censor,  is  friendly,  intimate,  con- 
versational, full  of  a  genuine  warmth  that  came  straight 
from  the  heart  of  the  writer.  The  words  of  Sophocles, 
which  the  philosopher  often  delighted  to  quote,  may  be 
taken  as  the  keynote:  **My  task  is  not  to  share  your 
hatred  but  your  love.'*  One  would  not  give  a  true  impres- 
sion of  the  book  by  making,  an  abstract  of  its  contents. 
It  is  the  spontaneity  and  charm  of  these  letters  that  bring 
home  the  ideas  and  hopes  that  they  contain;  for  To-mor- 
row is  not  a  presentation  of  arguments,  but  one  of  feel- 
ings and  beliefs.  It  is  to  such  living  documents  as  these 
letters  that  the  future  historian  will  have  to  turn  in  his 
arduous  search  for  the  truth,  rather  than  to  statistics  and 
records  of  so-called  facts.  Indeed,  are  not  feelings  and 
convictions  the  most  solid  facts  of  all? 

292 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


Now  that  the  scroll  of  history  is  unrolled  beyond  the  point 
that  Hugo  Miinsterberg  was  vouchsafed  to  read,  it  seems 
that  he  hoped  too  well.  Whether  some  remote  future  may 
not  yet  justify  his-  convictions — ^who  can  say?  Yet  these 
letters,  though  they  point  toward  a  To-morrow,  contain  pic- 
tures of  what  was  To-day  in  the  time  of  their  writing, 
pictures  in  bold,  masterful  strokes  that  reveal  the  pene- 
trating insight  of  one  who  could  stand  above  the  struggle. 

The  writer  spoke  of  the  new  nationalism  that  has  be- 
come so  deeply  and  firmly  rooted  in  every  land,  particu- 
larly of  the  new  nationalism  that  is  asserting  itself  in 
America  against  the  old  American  ideals.  This  new 
nationalism  that  lays  stress  upon  fine  points  of  national 
honor,  makes  possible  enthusiasm  for  military  prepared- 
ness, once  so  foreign  to  American  sentiments,  and  insists 
on  economic  protection,  must  express  itself  in  a  unity  of 
common  tasks  and  political  ideals,  rather  than  in  a  com- 
mon loyalty  to  traditions.  This  new  nationalism  marks 
the  rise  of  a  new  idealism,  the  idealism  that  makes  Amer- 
icanism a  desired  end,  in  itself,  as  opposed  to  the  individ- 
ualistic idealism  of  old. 

There  is  a  letter  on  the  sad  chapter  of  the  German- 
Americans,  their  misunderstood  loyalty,  their  abuses,  and 
sufferings,  a  letter  written  in  a  mood  colored  by  **a  gray 
sky  over  a  gray  sea."  There  is  a  letter  on  ** Idealism  in 
America"  which  contains  a  brilliant  impressionistic  pic- 
ture of  the  three  presidential  candidates  of  1916 :  Wilson, 
the  lyric,  of  the  aesthetic  nature,  who  must  strike  an  at- 
titude and  be  seen,  who  **  likes  to  speak  about  his  mental 
pains,  his  joys,  his  moods";  Roosevelt,  the  dramatic,  the 
man  of  natural  impulsive  action,  whose  *4ife  element  is 
the  conflict  with  beasts  or  with  men,  with  parties  or  with 
nations";  Hughes,  the  epic,  who  aims  at  the  persistent 
fulfillment  of  tasks  and  is  ruled  by  **the  deliberate  de- 
cisions of  the  mind."     But  most  individual  of  all  is  the 

293 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


vision  of  Bryan  as  possible  ambassador  in  Berlin,  as  *'the 
*  guileless  fooF  in  Klingsor's  magic  garden/*  There  is  a 
letter  on  **Th^  New  Pacifism/'  that  new-born  child  of 
the  most  terrible  war,  a  letter  that  contains  many  grave 
lessons  that  the  war  has  taught,  chief  among  them  the 
realization  that  the  ultimate  causes  for  war  are  not  justifi- 
able. The  New  Pacifism,  if  it  would  be  a  real  force,  must 
be  **The  New  Internationalism."  It  is  upon  the  power- 
ful binding  force  of  intellectual  goods,  of  scholarship 
and  art,  that  Miinsterberg  bases  his  hope  for  future  amity. 
The  United  States  of  the  World  are  his  heart's  desire; 
yet  *' world  federation  ought  to  be  an  ideal,  but  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  a  platform."  The  future  world  peace  must  rely 
upon  alliances  in  which  each  country  maintains  its  own 
peculiar  nationalism,  yet  is  at  the  same  time  bound  to  the 
other  countries  by  common  interests,  tasks,  and  ideals. 
In  the  last  letter,  on  **The  Reconstruction,"  the  Harvard 
scholar  once  more  reveals,  this  time  to  his  colleague  across 
the  sea,  the  vision  of  the  Anglo-German- American  alliance. 
It  is  a  vision,  and  the  seer  knows  that  many  will  sneer, 
as  they  have  already  sneered,  that  many  have  protested 
and  more  will  protest,  but  that  many  others  will  follow 
its  light.  As  a  psychologist  he  knows  that  no  suggestion 
can  be  made  too  early,  and  that  **the  harmony  of  the 
leading  nations  cannot  become  a  reality  unless  we  make 
the  very  thought  of  this  inner  approach  habitual."  His 
last  letter  ends: 

Peace  must  come  soon,  and  who  knows,  my  friend,  when  the 
roses  bloom  again  in  your  beautiful  garden,  one  of  the  German 
ships  interned  here  in  Boston  harbor  may  have  brought  me 
back  to  the  fatherland  to  you.  I  am  sure  in  one  wondrous  hour 
at  home  I  can  tell  you  face  to  face  so  much  more  than  I  have 
told  you  in  these  letters.    Yes,  when  the  roses  bloom  .  .  . 

When  the  book  To-morrow  appeared,  the  author  sent  a 

294 


copy  to  Roosevelt.  Upon  the  fly-leaf  he  inscribed:  '*In 
spite  of  it." 

The  summer  vacation  now  drew  to  a  close  and  the  serene, 
beautiful  autumn  days  at  the  seashore,  which,  with  their 
radiance,  belied  the  ugliness  of  the  world,  had  to  be  ex- 
changed once  more  for  the  academic  routine.  The  chief 
annoyance  for  Miinsterberg  at  this  time  was  the  interfer- 
ence with  his  mail.  Whereas  he  had  previously  been  able 
to  correspond  with  his  friends  and  relatives  abroad,  this 
was  now  almost  impossible:  nine-tenths  of  his  letters  no 
longer  arrived.  Indeed,  the  British  censor  evinced  a  most 
flattering  curiosity  about  his  correspondence.  Accordingly, 
when  Miinsterberg  sent  a  letter  to  Germany,  he  knew  that 
he  was  writing  perhaps,  by  a  bare  chance,  to  the  addressee, 
but  most  likely  to  the  eager  censor  and  possibly  to  the 
British  and  thence  to  American  newspapers.  When,  there- 
fore, an  intercepted  letter  of  his  to  the  Chancellor  of  that 
time,  Bethmann-HoUweg,  actually  did  appear  in  all  the 
newspapers  of  the  country,  his  surprise  was  very  slight. 
Here  it  may  be  said  again  that  whenever  Miinsterberg 
communicated  with  the  German  Government,  it  was  upon 
his  own  initiative  and  wholly  in  the  interest  of  mediation 
and  of  peace.  As  one  who  had  identified  himself  with 
American  life  for  twenty-five  years,  he  felt  called  upon 
to  prevent  misunderstandings  by  interpreting  American 
public  opinion  and  urging  consideration  for  American 
sentiment.  His  advice  was  always  in  the  direction  of 
avoiding  acts  that  might  arouse  hostile  feeling  and  eventu- 
ally lead  to  active  hostility. 

For  almost  a  year  Miinsterberg  had  refused  to  talk  pub- 
licly about  the  international  situation.  Among  many 
others,  the  Forum,  a  club  in  Hoboken,  had  invited  him  to 
speak  in  the  spring  of  1916,  but  he  had  declined,  because 
that  was  a  time  of  extreme  tension.  When  the  same  club 
asked  him  again  in  the  autumn,  he  no  longer  refused,  be- 

295 


m 


\\m 


i-*t 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

cause  he  believed  that  the  air  was  clear  and  peace  not  far 
away.  Therefore,  at  the  beginning  of  November,  he  gave 
to  an  enthusiastic  audience  some  of  his  vision  of  the  fu- 
ture. The  speech  suffered  to  an  extreme  degree  the  fate 
of  many  previous  speeches.  It  was  garbled  beyond 
recognition  in  the  newspaper  reports  and  made  the  basis 
for  innumerable  editorials.  The  President  of  the  Forum 
apologized  for  the  newspaper  absurdities  to  which  the 
speaker  was  subjected. 

This  address  was  the  occasion  of  MUnsterberg 's  last 
visit  to  New  York,  where  he  had  so  many  friends  and  ad- 
mirers, and  where  he  had  spent  brisk,  crowded  days — so 
often,  indeed,  that  the  staff  of  the  Manhattan  Hotel  came 
to  look  upon  him  as  a  familiar  patron  and  was  always 
eager  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  **the  Professor.*'  This 
time,  in  contrast  to  his  usual  hurried  trips,  he  was  ac- 
companied by  his  wife,  and  made  a  holiday  out  of  his 
visit,  never  surmising  that  it  was  to  be  his  last. 

The  heavy  thoughts  that  had  weighed  upon  him  in  many 
a  gloomy,  ominous  hour,  though  never  allowed  to  hamper 
action  or  slay  hope,  seemed  to  have  lifted  during  those 
last  two  months,  and  his  spirits  were  exhilarated  by  a 
firm  belief  in  the  dawn  of  peace.  **Out  of  the  abundance 
of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.'*  When  a  newspaper 
man  asked  him  over  the  telephone  what  he  thought  of 
the  German  peace  offer  of  November,  1916,  he  answered 
gleefully:  **As  a  philosopher  I  must  say:  the  ethics  of 
it  are  good,  the  psychology  even  better,  and  I  hope  the 
Allies  will  have  the  logic  to  accept  it.'' 

Into  Hugo  Miinsterberg 's  buoyant  spirits,  so  full  of 
vitality  and  eager  plans  for  the  future,  there  crept  quite 
a  different  mood.  Was  it  a  premonition  that  his  years 
were  numbered  that  made  him  look  backward  upon  his 
pilgrimage?  Although  his  working  strength  was  unabated, 
although  his  program  for  future  work  was  always  filled 

296 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

faster  even  than  his  tasks  were  accomplished — ^he  planned 
to  write  a  Psychology  of  War  in  future  peace  time — ^yet 
he  knew  that  his  health  was  vulnerable.  Various  doctors, 
especially  his  old  friend,  Dr.  Pfaff,  and,  in  later  years,  his 
family  physician,  Dr.  Jouett,  had  again  and  again  warned 
him  against  overwork.  Yet,  though  Miinsterberg  readily 
and  conscientiously  obeyed  doctors'  orders  in  all  other 
respects,  on  this  one  point  he  remained  disobedient;  he 
could  not  stop  work.  The  dangers  of  overwork  were  now 
combined  with  those  resulting  from  the  constant  strain  and 
suffering  of  the  last  years.  Miinsterberg  knew  too  well  that 
some  day  his  extraordinary  creative  powers  might  sud- 
denly be  crippled.  He  never  let  his  **  native  hue  of  resolu- 
tion" be  dimmed  by  such  reflections;  and  yet  it  seemed  as 
if  those  last  weeks  of  his  life  were  mellowed  by  that  con- 
templative charity  that  we  are  wont  to  link  in  our  minds 
with  the  gentle  and  yet  solemn  mood  of  parting.  On 
Thanksgiving  Day  he  took  a  walk  with  one  of  his  daughters 
to  the  little  colonial  house  in  which  he  had  become  initiated 
into  Cambridge  life  twenty-five  years  ago.  He  stood  long 
in  front  of  it,  regretting  the  neglect  into  which  it  had 
fallen,  and  recalled  the  happy  year  spent  within  its  walls 
and  the  cordial  advances  of  colleagues  and  neighbors. 

Out  of  this  reminiscent  mood  sprang  the  plan  for  a 
book  of  memories  that  Miinsterberg  wished  to  call  Twenty- 
five  Years  in  America.  Already  in  the  summer,  in  a  con- 
versation with  a  charming  old  lady  on  his  cottage  piazza, 
he  had  asked  her:  **How  old  do  you  think  a  man  ought 
to  be  to  write  an  autobiography?"  Without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  she  looked  at  him  archly  and  said :  *  *  Oh,  about 
your  age." 

The  book  was  not,  however,  intended  to  be  a  formal 
autobiography;  for  that  he  did  not  consider  himself  old 
enough.  It  was  rather  to  be  a  reminiscent  view  of  the 
rich  life  in  which  he  had  taken  part,  of  the  many  noble, 

297 


HUGO  MUNSTERBBRG 

brilliant  or  powerful  men  with  whom  his  destiny  had 
brought  him  into  contact,  of  the  varied  movements  and 
achievements  he  had  watched  or  helped  to  advance  in  the 
fields  of  scholarship,  education,  public  and  social  life.  A 
manuscript  outline  of  this  book  is  extant ;  in  it  the  fourteen 
chapters  planned  have  been  given  these  headings:  The 
Pilgrimage,  In  the  World  of  Teachers  (or  Among  Teachers 
and  Scholars),  Among  the  Colleagues,  Theory  and  Practice, 
Social  Problems,  The  Woman's  Mind,  Among  the  Philoso- 
phers, In  the  Home  of  Beauty,  The  Message  from  Home, 
The  American  Messsage,  Hands  across  the  Sea,  Among  the 
German-Americans,  The  Cataclysm.  This  book  was  des- 
tined to  remain  an  unfinished  symphony.  The  first 
chapter  only,  **The  Pilgrimage,''  was  written,  which 
is  the  story,  briefly  told,  of  Hugo  Miinsterberg 's 
twenty-five  years  in  America  from  the  first  letter  of 
William  James,  inviting  him  to  Harvard,  to  the  out- 
break of  the  war.  This  fragment  was  not  offered  to 
the  public  till  February,  1917,  when  the  Century  Magazine 
printed  the  posthumous  chapter — a  low  voice  in  the  rising 
clamor  of  America's  entrance  into  the  war. 

During  the  last  months,  Miinsterberg  was  made  to  feel 
especially  that  his  popularity  with  the  students  had  not 
suffered.  One  of  his  very  last  contributions,  written  on 
November  29,  1916,  was  to  the  December  number  of  the 
Harvard  Illustrated  Magazine,  a  periodical  edited  by 
undergraduates.  This  article,  called  **The  Freshman 
Studies,"  gives  the  average  result  of  psychological  intel- 
ligence tests  made  in  the  spring  of  1916  with  276  under- 
graduates in  Miinsterberg 's  beginning  psychology  class, 
and  the  surprising  correlation  of  these  results  with  the 
average  standing  of  the  same  students  in  their  freshman 
studies.  This  led  to  the  conclusion  that,  on  the  whole,  the 
men  with  the  greatest  mental  powers  were  not  those  who 

298 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 

did  the  best  work,  in  other  words,  that  many  of  the  most 
talented  students  were  apt  to  be  careless  or  lazy. 

Miinsterberg 's  interest  in  his  students  never  ebbed, 
however  high  the  tide  of  his  many  cares  might  rise;  and 
the  students,  in  turn,  were  loyal  to  him.  Deliberately  he 
had  avoided  in  the  classroom  any  mention  of  war  or 
politics,  and  refused  to  speak  to  student  clubs  upon  these 
inflammatory  topics.  But  in  October,  1916,  when  the 
International  Polity  Club,  a  student  organization,  in- 
vited him  to  speak  in  Phillips  Brooks  House,  he  saw  fit 
to  break  his  silence.  His  motives  for  doing  so  he  has 
expressed  himself  in  the  introductory  remarks  of  the  ad- 
dress in  which  he  gave  his  ideas  on  the  reconstruction  of 
the  world : 


I  want  to  speak  to  you  about  peace:  but  I  cannot  speak 
of  peace  without  saying  war.  And  while  I  say  war,  I  cannot 
help  feeling  a  deep  emotion  at  the  thought  that  it  is  the  first 
time  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  twenty-seven  months  ago 
that  I  have  spoken  about  the  war  in  a  hall  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity. Needless  to  say  that  I  have  never  mentioned  the  war  in  a 
lecture,  but  I  have  also  refused  every  invitation  to  speak  in  a 
students'  club,  just  as  I  have  avoided  speaking  on  political 
subjects  before  public  audiences,  declining  more  than  two  hun- 
dred invitations  for  political  addresses.  Why  have  I  done  so? 
I  came  here  to  Harvard  for  scientific  interests,  but  they  were 
soon  intertwined  with  a  cosmopolitan  interest.  The  more  I 
became  absorbed  and  fascinated  by  American  life,  the  more  I 
became  anxious  to  interpret  American  ideals  to  the  European 
continent  where  they  were  pitifully  misunderstood;  and  the  more 
I  saw  how  little  the  Americans  understood  the  aims  of  my 
fatherland,  the  more  I  tried  to  interpret  German  ideals  in 
America.  So  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  I  have  tried  to  serve 
the  mutual  harmony  of  Germany  and  the  United  States  by 
strengthening  a  mutual  understanding,  and  my  whole  career  shows 
that  by  an  inner  union  of  Germany  and  America  I  always  meant 
one  in  which  England  too  is  included.  Now  when  two  years  ago 
the  war  broke  out  and  all  of  America's  public  opinion  was 
stampeded  into  the  camp  of  Germany's  enemies,  and  especially 

299 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 


UNDER  THE  SHADOW 


New  England  for  natural  reasons  and  for  artificial  reasons 
became  pro-ally,  I  should  not  have  lived  up  to  that  old  task 
if  I  had  not  tried  to  counteract  this  one-sidedness.  Hence 
my  role  was  necessarily  that  of  protest  against  unfairness. 
The  role  was  not  new  to  me.  In  the  time  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war  the  majority  of  the  Germans  took  sentimentally 
the  side  of  the  weaker  and  many  prejudices  against  America 
were  felt;  and  at  that  time  I  defended  America  in  Germany 
as  I  worked  for  Germany  now  in  America.  I  was  not  afraid 
of  the  effects  of  my  words.  Hence,  needless  to  say,  I  never 
published  anything  without  my  name.  But  I  did  feel  strongly 
that  such  a  fight  against  the  surrounding  opinions  ought  to  be 
kept  away  from  the  university  campus.  So  1914  and  1915 
passed  by;  but  with  1916  the  times  have  changed.  We 
begin  to  see  the  end.  We  look  forward  toward  the  peace 
to  come.  Our  thoughts  move  from  the  battlefields  to  the  new 
harvests  of  civilization  in  a  better  future.  It  is  no  longer  a 
question  of  victor  and  vanquished,  no  longer  a  concern  of  this 
or  that  nation :  the  task  before  the  world  to-day  is  a  world  task, 
and  not  the  politician,  but  the  philosopher,  the  psychologist,  the 
social  moralist  feels  himself  touched  by  the  new  issues,  and  in 
this  new  period  there  seems  no  longer  any  reason  to  a- 
void  a  word  about  peace  and  war  before  serious  students  whose 
minds  are  directed  toward  the  problems  of  international 
policy. 

Miinsterberg  was  not  only  in  demand  as  a  prophet  by 
audiences  eager  to  hear  him.  During  those  last  weeks, 
business  men's  organizations  of  industrial  cities  in  Massa- 
chusetts, like  Brockton  and  Fall  River,  as  well  as  of 
Boston,  asked  him  to  instruct  them  in  applied  psychology. 
Whenever  his  time  and  strength  allowed  it,  he  followed 
these  requests,  never  without  enjoying  new  enthusiastic 
aoquaintances  or  fresh  impressions.  But  it  was  to  a 
student  body  that  his  last,  address  was  spoken.  On  the 
evening  of  Friday,  December  15th,  he  was  the  guest  of 
honor  at  the  banquet  of  the  Harvard  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
chapter  in  Memorial  Hall.  It  was  not  the  first  time  that 
he  had  spoken  to  Phi  Beta  Kappa  men,  but  it  was  the  last. 

300 


On  the  next  morning  a  Boston  physician  was  inspired 
to  write  thus  to  Miinsterberg: 

December  16th,  1916. 
My  dear  Professor  Munsterberg: 

An   Englishman   by   birth,   an   American   by  choice,   I   have 
welcomed   every  word   from   your   virile   pen.  .  .  . 

I  was  avid  for  To-morrow  and,  judging  from  the  tone  of  my 
vigor,  digested  it. 

•  •••••.», 

I  have  passed  around  the  little  book.   To-morrow;  to-day  it 
goes  to  the  Faelten  Brothers,  those  wonderful  teachers  ...  I 
trust  no  violence  is  done  by  these  words  scribbled  on  fly  leaf: 
Who  loves  his  fellowmen,  shall  read  To-morrow 
To  find  solution  for  the  cruel  grief 
Inherent  in  the  pentecost  of  sorrow 
Now  raging  in  the  world.    While  sheaf  on  sheaf 
Of  unnamed  heroes  to  the  pyre  is  thrown, 
Nor  foe,  nor  friend  of  Freedom  bears  the  fault — 
As  who  shall  say — The  guilty  stand  alone; 
All  bleeding  now,  have  erred!     And  to  exalt 
The  essential  aim  of  Man:  Good  Will  to  know, 
Fight  on,  O  Brave!  till  sleeps  its  every  foe. 

Yours  to  an  understanding  of  the  various  means  pursued  by 
nations  to   attain   the  one  great  end:   Peace   and   Good   Will. 

For  you  and  yours  and  all  the  World,  come  happy,  happier, 
happiest  days! 

Albert  Evans 

Saturday,  December  16,  1916,  was  a  brisk,  cold  winter 
day,  dazzling  with  fresh  snow.  In  Munsterberg 's  house 
on  Ware  Street  there  was  already  a  bustle  of  Christmas 
preparations.  This  was  to  be  once  more  a  Christmas  of 
true  joy,  as  of  old,  because  above  the  clamor  of  war,  the 
song  of  good  will  toward  men  seemed  to  be  faintly  rising 
into  the  air.  According  to  his  custom,  Miinsterberg  had 
made  his  secret  purchases  of  surprises  to  be  spread  under 
the  lighted  Christmas  tree,  in  more  than  ample  time. 
Nevertheless  this  Saturday  afternoon  he  would  not  return 

301 


HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

to  Emerson  Hall,  but  would  go  to  town  for  a  final  inter- 
view with  Santa  Claus. 

It  was  time  for  his  **nine  o'clock*'  lecture  at  Radcliffe 
College.  A  sharp  w'ind  was  storming  outside.  Brisk 
walking  against  the  cold  wind  had  been  found  to  be 
injurious  to  his  health,  and,  to  avoid  it,  he  had  sometimes 
driven  to  his  early  lecture.  But  on  this  morning  the  sun- 
light was  smiling  so  brightly  on  the  snow,  that  from  his 
window  the  philosopher  could  not  see  that  the  day  might 
'* smile  and  smile  and  be  a  villain'';  and  so  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  walk. 

The  morning  paper  brought  discussions  of  the  latest 
offer  of  reconciliation.  And  Hugo  Miinsterberg  said  to 
his  wife  with  cheerful  confidence : 

*'By  spring  we  shall  have  peace!" 

Then  he  put  on  his  fur  coat  and  his  overshoes  and 
walked  out  into  the  snow  and  wind,  for  the  students  at 
Radcliffe  were  waiting  for  their  professor.  The  gale  was 
strong  and  sharp — deadly  sharp.  He  struggled  against  it 
and  reached  the  College,  exhausted.  Yet,  after  a  short 
rest,  he  entered  the  lecture  room  and  mounted  the  plat- 
form. He  began  to  lecture,  but,  with  the  words  of  in- 
struction on  his  lips,  he  fell  to  the  floor.  The  great  heart 
of  love  stood  still :  to  him  had  come  the  everlasting  peace. 


APPENDIX 

A  SURVEY  OF  THE  LITERATURE  WHITTEN  BY 

MCNSTERBERG  during  THE  PERIODS 

COVERED  BY  THE  FOREGOING 

CHAPTERS 

Chapter  III 

The  literature  produced  by  Miinsterberg  during  the 
period  chronicled  in  this  chapter,  particularly  during  the 
early  years  of  his  career,  is  significant  for  the  future  tend- 
encies of  his  contributions  to  theoretical  and  experimental 
psychology  and  to  philosophy.  **The  child  is  father  of  the 
man."  So  the  works  of  the  young  scholar  bore  seed  that, 
in  the  course  of  his  lifetime,  was  to  yield  abundant  fruit. 
Yet  the  output  of  these  early  years  represents  far  more  than 
the  direction  given  to  the  future  work ;  the  several  volumes 
have  scholarly  importance  in  themselves  and  at  the  time  of 
their  appearance  roused  the  attention  of  colleagues  and 
established  the  reputation  of  the  rising  psychologist. 

During  Miinsterberg 's  student  years,  his  scientific  writ- 
ing was  naturally  concentrated  on  his  doctor 's  thesis.  For 
the  rest,  besides  the  pamphlet,  already  mentioned,  on 
''Students'  Rights,"  his  literary  excursions  were  into  the 
fields  of  poetry  and  fiction,  where  he  found  recreation  and 
delight. 

The  dissertation  presented  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Philosophy  and  printed  in  Leipzig  in  1885  was  Die  Lehre 
von  der  natiirlichen  Anpassung,  or  Doctrine  of  Natural 
Adaptation,  a  historical  and  critical  examination  of  this 
biological  theory.  The  thesis  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  was  Augenmass  or  Eye  Estimate.  This  is  an  ex- 
perimental study  of  the  problem  based  upon  a  realization 
of  how  insuflScient  the  experimental  data  and  how  incon- 
sistent the  methods  had  been  hitherto.    The  particular 

303 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


series  of  experiments  is  connected  with  the  author  ^s  under- 
lying theory  of  the  nature  of  consciousness  and  its  contents. 
The  thesis  was  later  incorporated  into  the  second  volume 
of  Miinsterberg's  Beitrdge  zmr  experiment ellen  Psycholo- 

gie. 

Of  the  period  at  Freiburg,  the  first  publication  in  1888 
was  a  psychological  dissertation  called  Willenshandlung 
or  Activity  of  the  WUl.  The  early  works  of  Miinster- 
berg  will  not  here  be  considered  in  detail,  because  his 
psychological  and  philosophical  contributions  appeared 
later  both  in  more  comprehensive,  systematic  form  and  in 
more  accessible  popularized  versions.  It  must  suffice  to 
point  out  that  in  this  early  study  of  will  activity  we  find 
those  theories  asserted  that  in  later  years  were  still  empha- 
sized and  more  fully  developed.  The  book  is  divided  into 
three  parts:  **Will  Actions  as  Movements'';  **Will  Ac- 
tion as  a  Conscious  Process'';  **Will  Action  as  Conscious 
Movement."  Emphasis  is  laid  on  the  recognition  of  will 
action  as  a  series  of  motor  processes,  started  by  the  concep- 
tion of  the  first  means  of  approach  toward  a  desired  end. 
It  will  be  seen  that  in  later  years  Miinsterberg's  psychol- 
ogy became  identified  with  the  ** action  theory"  which 
makes  the  motor  processes  and  the  disposition  of  the  brain 
centers  toward  the  motor  responses  of  central  significance 
for  psychical  life.  Further,  the  resolution  of  will  activ- 
ity into  explainable  motor  processes  makes  unnecessary 
the  intrusion  of  some  immaterial  force  into  the  chain  of 
functioning  matter.  There  is  one  point,  moreover,  that 
the  psychologist  never  ceased  to  emphasize  henceforth, 
whether  in  scholarly  work  or  popular  essay:  namely,  that 
the  last  word  about  the  soul  must  be  left  to  metaphysics, 
and  that  psychology  must  limit  its  search  to  that  condition 
which  alone  is  consistent  with  the  very  existence  of  an  ex- 
planatory science  at  all — that  is,  the  continuity  of  pro- 
cesses.    This  can  be  found  only  in  the  physical  realm  and 

304 


the  psychical  phenomena  can  be  explained  only  as  accom- 
panying the  connected  physical  processes.  The  young 
psychologist  examined  in  this  treatise  the  theories  of  his 
colleagues  Munck,  Meynert,  Schiff,  Goltz,  and  Exner. 

In  1891  a  volume  Aufgahen  und  Methoden  der  Psycholo- 
gie  (Aims  and  Methods  of  Psychology)  was  published  at 
Leipzig  as  one  of  the  publications  of  a  Society  for  Psycho- 
logical Research.     In  this  volume,  too,  certain  essentials 
were    emphasized    that    Miinsterberg   reiterated    in    later 
works.     Here  the  *  *  I, ' '  studied  by  the  psychologist,  is  de- 
fined as  the  content  of  consciousness,  to  which  all  analysis 
must  refer,  whereas  consciousness  itself  is  merely  an  ab- 
straction.    The  aim  of  psychology  is  to  examine  the  psychi- 
cal phenomena  of  the  individual  consciousness,  and  all  the 
light  that  historical  or  economic  facts  may  throw  upon  such 
phenomena  should  not  distract  from  the  real  aim,  which 
is  not  the  discQvery  of  the  historical  or  economic  facts 
themselves.     The  consistent  separation  of  psychological  in- 
quiry from  the  problems  of  epistemology  is  demanded  once 
more.    In  an  apt  simile  the  author  compares  the  philosophi- 
cal offering  of  pure  reason  with  gold  which  has  the  greater 
and  more  lasting  value,  and  the  toil  of  a  science  like  psy- 
chology  with  nourishing  and  necessary  bread.     He  ends  the 
volume  with  a  plea  for  special  chairs  of  psychology  in  the 
German  universities,  where  psychology  had  been  taught  by 
philosophers  merely  as  one  branch  of  their  subject  and 
could  not  be  given  full  justice.    Allied  with  this  plea  is 
one  for  psychological  laboratories  in  the  universities. 

Allusion  to  the  fact  that  the  number  of  completely 
equipped  psychological  laboratories  did  not  exceed  the  num- 
ber of  Graces  is  made  in  the  introduction  to  the  Beitrdge 
zur  experimentellen  Psychologic  or  Contributions  to  Ex- 
perimental Psychology,  issued  in  the  form  of  pamphlets  of 
which  four  appeared  between  1889  and  1892.  These  '*  con- 
tributions"  contain  experiments  and  conclusions  drawn 

305 


I 


APPENDIX 

from  the  experiments  made  by  Miinsterberg  who,  though 
assisted  by  his  students,  was  always  the  experimenter  him- 
self. In  his  introduction  Miinsterberg  replied  to  a  criti- 
cism, then  prevalent,  of  the  new  experimental  movement— 
that  the  numerical  results  of  experiments  were  overrated ; 
he  declared  that  the  numerical  results  must  indeed  receive 
their  meaning  from  self-observation  and  from  ideas  based 
on  self -observation.  The  *' Contributions'*  contain,  besides 
the  before-mentioned  doctor's  dissertation  on  Eye  Estimate, 
•experiments  on  the  sense  of  time,  on  the  fluctuations  of  at- 
tention, on  the  ear's  sense  of  space,  etc.  For  a  medical 
encyclopedia  Miinsterberg  wrote  psychological  articles  on 
attention,  association,  consciousness,  and  the  like.  His 
lecture    on    Thought    Transference    was    published    in 

1890. 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  although  his  reputation  as 
experimental  psychologist  was  constantly  growing,  Miin- 
sterberg's  lectures  to  his  students  were  for  a  large  part 
purely  philosophical.  Therefore  it  is  not  surprising  that 
he  should  have  left  also  a  volume  of  philosophy  as  a  docu- 
ment of  this  early  period.  This  is  a  treatise  on  The  Origin 
of  Morality  (Ursprung  der  Sittlichkeit) ,  which  contains 
praise  and  critical  examination  of  the  Ethics  by  his 
teacher  Wundt.  The  young  philosopher  characterizes  the 
essence  of  moral  action  as  the  will  toward  a  particular  ac- 
tion as  such,  in  contrast  to  the  will  toward  a  desirable 
effect.  Here  we  find  the  seed  of  that  distinction  between 
ethical  and  aesthetic  motives  that  was,  many  years  later, 
to  be  developed  elaborately  in  The  Eternal  Values.  In 
this  early  treatise  Miinsterberg  reasons  that  morality  may 
be  preceded  and  followed  by  morally  indifferent  motives, 
inasmuch  as  the  ideal  development  of  humanity  demands 
the  creation  of  certain  commandments,  but  neither  the 
establishment  of  commandments  for  worthy  ends,  nor  the 
natural  obedience  to  commandments  when  they  have  once 

306 


APPENDIX 

become  familiar,  involve  morality,  which  is  attached  merely 
to  the  performanq/B  of  the  moral  deed  for  its  own  sake,  and 
to  the  suppression  of  -an  action  that  leads  to  a  desired  end 
but  is  undesirable  as  action.  The  author  is  led  to  ques- 
tion the  right  of  superiority  of  the  moral  deed  over  those 
deeds  that  do  not  involve  the  essentially  ethical  character- 
istics but  which  nevertheless  lead  to  worthy  ends.  Moral- 
ity is  valuable  because  it  serves  the  perfection  of  man- 
kind ;  yet  this  perfection  is  not  valuable  because  it  corres- 
ponds with  morality;  indeed,  human  development  pres- 
cribes morality  and  not  morality  the  development.  The 
special  emphasis  on  the  equality  of  desirable  non-moral 
attributes  with  moral  ones  and  the  possibility  of  the  for- 
mer's  even  greater  value  gave  way  in  Miinsterberg 's 
riper  years  to  a  dispassionate  juxtaposition  of  the  logical, 
aesthetic,  and  ethical  values  in  the  harmonious  system  of 
The  Eternal  Values. 

Philosopher  and  scientist,  Miinsterberg  yet  remained  a 
poet.  The  poems  written  in  various  moods,  contemplative, 
enthusiastic,  and  humorous,  were  not  yet  intended  for  the 
public,  but  they  were  written  and  polished  with  full  serious- 
ness. Miinsterberg 's  taste  for  the  drama,  acquired  in  his 
boyhood  and  fostered  during  his  student  years  at  Leipzig, 
was  given  an  interesting  expression:  he  made  a  new 
arrangement  of  Goethe's  *' Faust"  so  that,  by  skillful  cut- 
ting and  adaptation,  both  parts,  hitherto  given  on  sepa- 
rate nights,  could  be  presented  on  one  evening.  This 
arrangement  waa  accepted  by  a  leading  playhouse  in 
Frankfurt  am  Main,  though  it  was  never  used.  Even  this 
avocation  was  a  forerunner  of  later  pursuits  and  pointed 
not  only  to  the  play  writing  with  which,  in  later  years, 
Miinsterberg  embellished  his  summer  vacations,  but  to  the 
enthusiasm  with  which,  in  the  very  last  exacting  and 
clouded  years  of  his  life,  he  gave  earnest  attention  to  the 
young  art  of  the  photoplay. 

307 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  literary  output  of  the  first  three  years  in  America 
was,  of  course,  slight.  Miinsterberg  did  not  feel  at  ease 
enough  in  the  English  language  to  try  any  ambitious 
authorship.  Nevertheless  he  wrote  an  article  on  the  Psy- 
chological Laboratory  that  was  published  in  the  Harvard 
Graduate's  Magazine,  also  a  pamphlet  with  an  account  of 
the  laboratory  for  the  Harvard  exhibition  at  the  Chicago 
World's  Pair.  Further  he  prepared  three  boxes  of 
Pseudoptics—m&teTi&l  for  psychological  experiments  with 
supplementary  text— for  school  and  popular  use  that  were 
printed  by  the  Milton  Bradley  Company  in  Springfield. 
The  forerunners  of  Miinsterberg 's  work  as  interpreter  of 
American  life  were  three  essays  written  for  a  German 
newspaper  on  **The  Americans. '* 

During  his  three  years  at  Harvard  Miinsterberg  made 
serious  studies  in  preparation  for  his  large  scientific  work 
in  German,  Grundzuge  der  Psychologie.  He  never  for  a 
moment  doubted  that  all  his  serious  creative  work  would 
always  be  in  German  and  never  dreamed  that  one  day 
he  should  find  himself  one  of  the  most  widely  read  scien- 
tific authors  in  America. 

CHAPTER  VI 

Miinsterberg  welcomed  the  Muse  of  Poetry  as  a  summer 
guest;  his  authorship,  however,  lasted  all  the  year  round. 
Various  essays  appeared  at  this  time:  ** Psychology  and 
History '*  in  the  Psychological  Review,  the  ones  on  the  re- 
lations of  Psychology  to  Mysticism,  to  Art,  to  Real  Life, 
besides  ' '  The  Danger  from  Experimental  Psychology ' '  and 
**The  Teacher  and  the  Laboratory''  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly,  the  favorite  in  academic  circles. 

All  these  essays,  with  the  exception  of  the  last  two, 
Miinsterberg  decided  to  gather  into  a  book,  his  first  in  the 

308 


English  language.  This  book,  called  Psychology  and  Life 
was  published  by  Houghton  &  Mifflin  in  1899;  it  not  only 
gained  the  attention  of  scholars,  but  it  won  an  unexpected 
popularity,  and  it  was  destined  to  be  the  first  of  a  long 
procession  of  books — philosophical,  psychological  and  social 
— that  brought  Hugo  Miinsterberg  the  reputation  of  one  of 
the  really  influential  authors  in  America. 

** Psychology  and  Life,"  the  title  essay,  contains  the  an- 
swer to  the  many  eager  inquirers  who  stand  before  science 
baffled  and  return  to  life  confused.  In  it  the  author  has 
presented  his  own  philosophical  attitude  toward  the  science 
of  psychology, — the  attitude  that  permeates  all  his  work 
and  has  since  then  been  asserted  again  and  again  in  ever 
new  connections.  For  here  he  has  brought  out  the  episte- 
mological  distinction  between  the  subject  and  object  of 
consciousness.  Psychology,  like  all  sciences,  in  order  to 
explain  mental  life  must  fit  into  a  system  of  causally  con- 
nected elements,  which  is  the  only  way  at  all  in  which  any- 
thing can  be  explained.  Therefore  it  is  the  function  of 
psychology  to  reconstruct  life  into  an  artificial  system,  to 
analyze  mental  life  into  elements  parallel  to  the  elements 
of  matter  that  physics  reconstructs,  and  further  to  con- 
sider every  phenomenon  as  an  object  of  consciousness. 
Even  personality  is  for  the  psychologist  nothing  but  a 
complex  central  combination  of  psychical  elements.  But 
the  author  declares  emphatically  that  the  life  of  will  and 
purpose,  the  life  that  is  interpreted  and  connected  by  his- 
tory, by  logic,  aesthetics,  and  ethics  and  that  is  transcended 
by  religion,  has  its  subjective  and  immediate  reality,  which 
must  not  be  confused  with  the  objective  existence  postu- 
lated by  psychology — psychology  that  is  itself  merely  the 
tool  of  the  will  to  understand  mental  life.  At  the  end  of 
the  essay  there  is  a  suggestion,  one  may  say  a  prophesy, 
of  '* Purposive  Psychology,''  though  not  yet  called  by  its 
name — the  science,  that,  in  contrast  to  causal  psychology, 

309 


APPENDIX 


interprets  the  purposes  of  life.  Seventeen  years  later 
Miinsterberg  presented  a  developed  treatment  of  these 
parallel  conceptions  in  his  comprehensive  textbook  Psy- 
chology: General  and  Applied, 

The  underlying  thought— the  necessity  for  causal  psy- 
chology to  transform  real  life  into  a  system  of  causally  con- 
nected elements  for  the  purpose  of  explaining  it— runs  also 
through  the  following  essays.  In  *  *  Psychology  and  Physiol- 
ogy'' light  is  thrown  on  the  necessity  for  the  psycho- 
physical parallel  that  is  the  working  basis  for  psycholog- 
ical study,  because  '^Psychology  needs  the  physiological 
connection  for  its  own  special  work,  needs  it  as  a  logical 
supposition  without  which  it  cannot  fulfill  its  proper  task." 
Psychical  phenomena  as  such,  which  unlike  physical  objects, 
are  incapable  of  being  shared  or  held  fast,  can  never  be 
forced  into  the  causal  chain.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  in 
order  to  explain  mental  life,  to  recognize  a  physical  coun- 
ter-part in  the  brain  for  every  psychical  action.  It  is  the 
physical  process,  then,  not  its  psychical  accompaniment 
that  is  linked  causally  and  explained.  For  this  purpose  it 
is  necessary  to  resolve  psychical  states  into  elements  that 
can  correspond  to  elemental  parts  of  the  physical  system. 
Ideas  which,  unlike  feelings  and  emotions,  can  alone  find 
logically  satisfactory  description  in  psychology,  are  for  this 
•purpose  analyzed  into  elements  called  sensations.  To  make 
feelings,  volitions,  etc.,  also  describable  was  not  the  least 
part  of  the  work  in  psychology  of  the  last  twenty  years. 
This  can  be  done  by  analyzing  them  into  describable  sensa- 
tions that  have  their  physical  counterparts.  The  author 
further  explains  the  action  theory  in  contrast  to  the  as- 
sociation theory  and  the  apperception  theory.  The  action 
theory,  although  it  agrees  with  both  the  latter  theories  in 
some  respects,  goes  beyond  them  and  supplements  them 
where  they  are  deficient.  The  keynote  of  this  theory  is  the 
postulate  that  **  every  psychical  sensation  as  an  element  of 

310 


APPENDIX 


the  content  of  consciousness  is  the  accompaniment  of  the 
physical  process  by  which  a  centripetal  stimulation 
becomes  transformed  into  a  centrifugal  impulse,"  that  is, 
by  which  a  stimulus  from  without  that  reaches  the  brain 
is  turned  into  an  active  impulse  issuing  from  the  brain. 
The  author's  presentation  of  his  action  theory  is  too  tech- 
nical to  be  given  here  and  has  since  been  expounded  at 
greater  length  in  his  Psychology:  General  and  Applied, 
The  last  paragraph  of  the  paper  may  be  quoted,  however, 
to  illustrate  the  quick,  but  well  controlled,  transition  from 
exact  psychological  explanation  to  the  broad  philosophi- 
cal outlook : 

The  scientist  must  do  his  work  continually  with  the  feeling 
that  he  seeks  and  discovers  facts  which  preceded  his  seeking  and 
which  he  merely  brings  to  view.  But  the  philosopher,  at  least, 
cannot  forget  that  the  work  is  a  transformation  of  the  reality 
for  the  fulfillment  of  our  logical  ideals  which  takes  place  ulti- 
mately in  the  service  of  our  duties.  The  seeker  for  truth  is  not 
a  miner  who  digs  and  digs  in  the  clay  of  reality  till  he  by  chance 
finds  a  lump  of  gold  with  his  shovel,  gold  which  has  slumbered 
there  for  eternities.  The  seeker  for  truth  creates  like  the  sculptor 
who  takes  the  valueless  clay  of  reality  to  transform  it  under  his 
hands  into  the  precious  plastic  work  which  harmonizes  with  his 
ideals. 

The  essay  on  ** Psychology  and  Education"  presents  those 
views  of  Miinsterberg  on  education  that  were  at  variance 
with  views  much  in  vogue  at  the  time  of  its  publication.  It 
was  a  time  when  psychology  invaded  nearly  every  sphere 
of  intellectual  life.  In  the  words  of  the  author :  *  *  Certainly 
the  good  appetite  of  psychology  has  sometimes  become 
voracity  in  our  days  and  she  has  begun  to  devour  all  mental 
sciences,  history  and  social  life,  ethics  and  logic,  and  finally, 
alas!  metaphysics;  but  that  is  not  a  development,  it  is  a 
disease,  a  misfortune." 

Thus  psychology,  also,  came  to  be  considered  helpful  to 
teachers.    This  view,  held  by  some  prominent  educators, 

311 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


was  not  shared  by  Munsterberg.  In  the  essay  he  allows 
that  high  school  teachers  should  have  an  elementary  knowl- 
edge of  psychology  as  part  of  their  general  education  and 
that  this  knowledge  may  be  applied  to  other  subjects,  such 
as  physics,  drawing,  history,  etc.,  as,  indeed,  the  knowl- 
edge of  one  science  often  supplements  that  of  another. 
But  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  use  of  psychology  as  a 
guide  for  the  teacher  in  the  work  of  teaching  and  his  treat- 
ment of  the  pupils. 

Child  study  ought  to  be  a  method,  not  an  end.  For  the 
purpose  of  experimental  study  in  the  laboratory  it  plays  no 
different  role  from  animal  psychology  or  abnormal  psychology.. 
The  individual  case  has  to  be  studied  and  the  great  amount  of 
statistics  more  or  less  instructive  and  entertaining  on  the  mental 
traits,  habits  and  preferences  of  children  are  of  no  real  psycho- 
logical value.  Scientific  child  study,  in  turn,  as  well  as  long 
experimental  or  physiological  psychology  cannot  be  of  the  slight- 
est use  to  the  teacher.  All  talk  about  the  brain  is,  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  teacher,  merely  cant,  and  I  say  this  frankly 
at  the  risk  of  giving  pleasure  to  those  who  do  not  deserve  it — 
to  those  who  axe  only  too  lazy  to  study  anatomy. 

The  mainspring  of  educational  work  is  the  belief  in 
ideals  with  which  the  spirit  of  the  teachable  youth  is  to  be 
filled. 

For  this  purpose  it  is  essential  that  the  pupils  be  considered 
free  subjects  who  themselves  are  capable  of  having  ideals  and 
acting  in  response  to  them.  .  .  .  You  also  destroy  the  values  of 
our  practical  life  if  you  force  on  them  the  categories  of  psychol- 
ogy, .  .  .  you  do  worse  than  if  you  should  offer  to  a  thirsty  man 
one  balloon  filled  with  hydrogen  and  another  with  oxygen  instead 
of  a  good  swallow  of  water.  The  chemist  is  quite  right:  that 
is  water.  The  fainting  man  insists  that  it  is  not,  and  life  speaks 
always  the  language  of  the  thirsty. 

It  is  the  attitude  of  immediate  life  with  its  wills  and 
aims,  not  of  life  as  it  is  reconstructed  for  the  purpose  of 
science,  which  must  be  the  teacher  *s.     This  does  not  mean, 

312 


however,  that  psychology  may  not  greatly  benefit  the  theory 
of  education.  The  scholar  working  in  education,  unlike  the 
practical  teacher,  may  easily  alternate  between  the  two  at- 
titudes— that  of  real  life  and  that  of  scientific  observation 
— and  he  may  use  his  knowledge  of  psychology  like  that  of 
any  other  natural  or  historical  science  in  building  up  the 
science  of  education.  This  science,  which  is  far  too  wide 
a  field  for  the  individual  teacher  to  survey,  must  be  left 
to  the  complete  attention  of  the  expert.  The  fruit  of  this 
expert  scholarly  research  will  then  be  at  the  disposal  of  the 
teacher.  ''The  bread  which  the  teacher  bakes  for  his 
classes  comes  indeed  partly  from  the  wheat  on  psychologi- 
cal fields,  but  the  corn  must  be  ground  beforehand  in  the 
educational  mills.''  For  the  part  which  psychology  is  to 
play  in  the  science  of  pedagogy  the  author  expresses 
high  hopes.  The  establishment  of  psycho-educational  labo- 
ratories seems  to  him  the  most  natural  step  in  this  direc- 
tion. In  such  laboratories  only  such  material  would  be 
selected  for  experimentation  as  bears  upon  educational 
problems.  That  there  will  be  no  lack  of  such  material  the 
author  firmly  believes,  and  that  new  and  ever  new  prob- 
lems will  arise  when  the  work  is  once  begun. 

In  the  essay  on  ''Psychology  and  Art''  the  importance 
of  art  education  in  the  schools  is  emphasized  because  it  is 
in  the  schoolroom  that  the  nation's  sense  of  beauty  must 
be  roused  and  developed  in  the  right  direction.  The  part 
that  psychology  can  play  in  art  education  is  not  great. 
To  be  sure,  psychological  correctness  is  demanded  of  every 
representation  of  human  life,  just  as  botanical  correctness 
is  demanded  of  the  picture  of  a  tree,  but  for  such  conform- 
ity the  study  of  psychology  is  no  more  necessary  in  the 
one  case  than  the  study  of  botany  in  the  other. 

The  psychological  study  of  art  is  concerned  with  two 
kinds  of  problems :  with  those  of  art  creation,  and  those  of 
art  enjoyment.    For  the  study  of  the  first  group  biological^ 

315 


APPENDIX 

and  sociological  material  is  required,  that  is,  the  develop- 
ment of  art  production  is  traced  from  the  earliest  begin- 
nings of  savages,  even  from  the  similar  pursuits  of  animals. 
For  the  second  group  direct  experiments  in  aesthetic  enjoy- 
ment are  made  in  the  laboratory.     Indeed,  aesthetic  emo- 
tions are  excellent  material  for  experimental  study  as,  un- 
like those  of  practical  experience,  they  are  independent 
of  individual  circumstances.     From  the  fruits  of  such  ex- 
perimentation the  teacher  of  art  may  profit  somewhat,  for 
from  them  some  prescription  may  be  deduced  for  achiev- 
ing aesthetic  results.     The  study  that  pertains  to  the  crea- 
tion of  art,  however,  is  not  desirable  for  specific  educa- 
tional use.    Psychology  cannot  make  a  genius,  not  even  a 
man   of  talent.    Moreover,   the  artificial   adoption   of  a 
pseudo-primitive  style  and  other  fads  in  schools  shows  the 
need  of  a  wholesome  attitude  that  must  be  instilled  not  by 
psychological  study,  but  by  a  firm  belief  in  the  ideals  of 
beauty.    **  Truth  and  beauty  represent  duties,  logical  and 
aesthetical    duties,    just    as    morality    represents    ethical 
duties.''    And  ** whoever  understands  art  as  will-function 
believes  in  art  and  appreciates  it  as  a  world  of  duties.'* 
Psychological  aids  may  be  useful  in  the  teaching  of  art,  but 
belief  in  absolute  values  is  essential. 

In  the  essay  on  ''Psychology  and  History"  the  author 
has  shown  the  difference  in  attitude  between  the  two 
sciences  toward  their  material.  The  real  difference  between 
psychology  and  history  is  a  difference  of  aim.  In  psychol- 
ogy, as  in  physics,  every  object  is  considered  as  the  cause  of 
an  expected  effect,  and  laws  are  types  of  causal  connection. 
For  this  purpose  objects  are  transformed  into  combinations 
of  elements.  History,  too,  reconstructs  life  into  a  complete 
system  in  the  service  of  connection:  this  is  not  a  causal 
system,  however,  but  a  teleological  system  of  individual 
will   relations.    The  antithesis   between   psychology  and 

314 


1 


APPENDIX 

history  is  not  that  of  law  and  single  event,  but  of  causality 
and  freedom. 

Psychology  and  history  cannot  help  each  other  and  cannot 
interfere  with  each  other  as  long  as  they  consistently  stick  to  their 
own  aims.  That  history  stands  nearer  to  real  life  than  psychol- 
ogy is  obvious;  indeed  the  material  of  the  historian  and  that  of 
the  poet  are  often  alike.  The  wills  and  purposes  of  individuals 
are  considered  in  their  connection  with  each  other  and  their 
relation  to  the  over-individual  values,  such  as  duty  which  stands 
above  the  single  desire. 

In  the  last  paper  of  the  book,  ''Psychology  and  Mysti- 
cism," Miinsterberg  began  his  warfare  against  occultism 
and  spiritualism  which  became  well  known  to  the  public 
throughout  his  career.  In  this  essay  the  author  first  throws 
some  light  on  those  cases  in  which  apparently  mysterious 
occurrences  can  be  explained  by  psychological  methods. 

Spiritualism  the  psychologist  rejects  completely,  and 
calls  attention  to  the  large  amount  of  fraud  and  clever 
trickery  with  which  the  believing  public  is  misled.  '*! 
used — or  ought  I  to  say  misused  T — ^my  last  summer  vaca- 
tion in  working  through  more  than  a  hundred  volumes  of 
the  so-called  evidence."  And  this  study  only  seemed  to 
confirm  his  convictions.  Modestly  he  defends  his  unwill- 
ingness to  attend  seances  himself  and  investigate  the 
methods  employed.  '*I  know  I  should  be  the  last  man 
to  see  through  the  scheme  and  discover  the  trick.  I 
should  certainly  have  been  deceived  by  Madame  Blavatsky, 
the  theosophist,  and  by  Miss  Palladino,  the  medium.  I  am 
only  a  psychologist,  not  a  detective."  He  did  not  dream, 
when  writing  these  words,  that  about  ten  years  later  the 
headlines  of  the  newspapers  would  be  full  of  Professor 
Miinsterberg 's  sensational  exposure  of  Madame  Palla- 
dino's  fraud. 

The  author's  serious  quarrel,  however,  is  not  with  the 
clever   impostors,   but   with   those   champions   of   occult 

315 


APPENDIX 

sciences  who  befog  the  mind  of  the  public.  The  danger,  as 
the  psychologist  sees  it,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  valuations 
of  real  life  with  its  meanings  and  purposes  are  projected 
into  the  psychological  reconstruction  of  life  by  which  every 
phenomenon  has  to  fit  into  the  causal  chain.  Such  trans- 
gression of  concepts  from  the  world  of  values  into  the 
world  of  causality  can  result  only  in  a  hopeless  confusion. 
And  the  author  believes  that  this  confusion  is  dangerous  not 
only  to  the  interests  of  science  but  to  the  true  understand- 
ing of  real  life  with  its  purposes  and  ideals.  For  *'to  mix 
values  with  laws  destroys  not  only  the  causal  links,  but 
also  the  values.  The  real  world  loses  its  values,  and  the 
scientific  world  loses  its  order ;  they  flow  together  in  a  new 
world  controlled  by  inanity  and  trickery  unworthy  of  our 
scientific  interests  and  unfit  for  our  ethical  ideals/' 

CHAPTER  VII 


The  years  here  chronicled,  full  as  they  were  of  man- 
ifold interests  and  distractions,  nevertheless  were  exceed- 
ingly productive  of  literature. 

The  book.  Psychology  and  Life,  summarized  in  the  pre- 
vious chapter,  was  cast  in  a  form  accessible  to  the  more 
energetic  general  reader.  At  the  same  time  Miinsterberg 
was  covering  these  same  problems  as  parts  of  a  complete 
systematic  construction  in  a  large  technical  book  intended 
to  be  the  first  of  two  volumes,  addressed  to  the  scholarly 
psychologist  and  philosopher.  Orundzuge  der  Psychologie, 
written  in  the  language  that  was  still,  at  this  period,  his 
more  pliant  and  natural  medium,  was  yet  intended  as  his 
peculiar  contribution  to  psychology  in  whatever  land  its 
devotees  might  dwell.  The  book  appeared  in  September, 
1900,  and  was  dedicated  to  **his  dear  colleague  at  Harvard 
University,  William  James,  in  sincere  admiration  and  cor- 
dial friendship.'* 

316 


APPENDIX 


This  first  volume  of  the  Orundzuge  der  Psychologie, 
which,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  was  never  followed  by  a  second, 
was  designated  as  the  general  part.  This  is  again  divided 
into  three  parts:  ''The  Function  of  Psychology,''  ''The 
Psychical  Objects"  and  "The  Psychical  Connection."  It 
is  not  necessary  here  to  examine  the  two  latter  parts  of  the 
volume,  particularly  since,  fourteen  years  later,  in  his  com- 
plete English  textbook  Psychology:  General  and  Applied, 
Miinsterberg  set  forth  his  attitude  toward  the  various  exist- 
ing theories  in  psychology  as  well  as  the  arguments  in  favor 
of  his  own.  The  first  part  of  his  earlier  book,  however,  The 
Function  of  Psychology,  contains  a  complete  statement  of 
the  author's  conception  of  the  broad  philosophical  basis  for 
the  science  of  psychology,  a  statement  that  illuminates  not 
only  his  definition  of  psychology  and  its  functions,  but  the 
whole  depth  of  his  philosophy.  This  central  theory,  which 
formed  the  foundation  of  all  his  work,  technical  as  well  as 
general,  scientific  as  well  as  popular,  cannot  be  repeated  too 
often  and  since  it  was  set  forth  for  the  first  time  with 
systematic  completeness  in  this  comprehensive  volume,  it 
is  due  to  a  study  of  the  author's  life  not  to  pass  by  this 
exposition  without  a  closer  regard. 

It  is  the  aim  of  the  volume  to  define  the  nature  and  limits 
of  psychology  in  its  relation  to  other  sciences  and  particu- 
larly to  epistemology ;  the  book  is  therefore  an  epistemologi- 
cal  investigation  of  the  material  and  terms  with  which 
psychology  has  to  do  and  which  it  takes  for  granted.  The 
first  chapter  contains  a  survey  of  tendencies  of  prevalent 
psychological  theories,  and  those  of  Wundt,  Brentano, 
Kiilpe,  Avenarius,  Schuppe,  James,  Dilthey,  Natorp,  and 
Windelband  are  touched  upon.  From  comparisons  with 
other  definitions  of  the  nature  of  psychology,  the  author 
crystallizes  his  own.  He  does  not,  like  his  teacher,  Wundt, 
consider  psychology,  despite  its  significant  material,  the 
basis  for  the  subjective,  that  is,  the  historical  and  normative 

317 


APPENDIX 


studies ;  indeed,  in  his  view,  the  function  of  these  sciences 
has  nothing  in  common  with  that  of  psychology.  This  we 
realize  when  we  make  naive,  practical  life  our  starting 
point  in  which  we  do  not  recognize  the  contrast  of  psychi- 
cal and  physical  phenomena,  but  of  subject  and  object.  In 
the  same  way  the  self  is  felt  to  be  neither  the  central  group 
of  all  given  objects  nor  merely  the  subjective  consciousness ; 
it  is  in  its  immediacy  the  subject  with  its  wills  and  purposes 
for  which  all  things  else  are  objects.  This  immediate  self 
and  the  world  it  acts  upon — and  not  a  complex  of  elements 
— are  reality.  Indeed,  the  world  outside  of  me,  in  order  to 
become  a  complex  of  facts,  hence  material  for  description 
and  explanation,  must  first  be  separated  from  the  willing 
self.  It  is  epistemologically  wrong,  therefore,  to  say  that 
psychology  deals  with  reality  in  as  far  as  it  is  dependent 
on  the  subject;  on  the  contrary,  reality  must  be  made 
independent  of  the  willing  subject  in  order  to  become  the 
object  of  scientific  inquiry,  although  for  psychological  pur- 
poses, to  be  sure,  mental  life  may  be  considered 
dependent  on  the  psycho-physical  individual,  which,  how- 
ever, must  not  be  confused  with  the  actual  self  of  real  life. 
There  was  a  tendency  among  contemporary  psychologists, 
to  contrast  a  ** descriptive*'  psychology,  related  to  the 
humanistic  sciences,  with  the  explanatory  or  constructive 
psychology,  related  to  natural  sciences.  This  view,  how- 
ever, overlooks  the  fact  that  only  such  objects  as  can  also 
be  explained  can  be  described,  and  that  description  as 
well  as  explanation  are  the  functions  of  constructive  psy- 
chology, whereas  the  other  ways  of  studying  mental  life 
belong  to  history,  education,  ethics — that  is,  to  the  his- 
torical and  normative  sciences. 

Further,  the  author  considers  the  distinction  made  by 
Windelband  between  natural  sciences  seeking  general  laws 
and  historical  studies  seeking  accounts  of  single  events.  To 
Miinsterberg  this  distinction  does  not  seem  essential,  or 

318 


APPENDIX 


rather,  it  seems  a  purely  methodological  one  and  not  one 
of  definition.  For  psychology  may  well  consider  a  single 
occurrence,  though  always  from  the  objectifying  point  of 
view,  and  history  may  well  set  up  generalities,  though 
always  with  reference  to  wills  and  purposes  of  subjects. 
Moreover,  the  generality  of  a  law  is  fully  as  valid  when 
applied  to  a  large  abstraction  as  when  applied  to  a  single 
specifically  defined  phenomenon.  The  methodological  dis- 
tinction between  psychology  and  history  therefore  is  re- 
duced to  a  matter  of  chance,  whereas  the  ontological  dis- 
tinction makes  essential  the  question  of  values. 

In  the  second  chapter  we  come  to  the  epistemological 
basis  for  psychology.  Immediate  experience,  even  in  mem- 
ory or  imagination,  refers  to  **real  things,  not  to  concepts 
within  me.'*  At  the  same  time  the  true  experiencing  self  is 
not  given  and  perceived,  but  is  a  unit  that  takes  attitudes 
in  actuality.  The  experience  of  the  self  as  well  as  of  otjier 
individuals  as  wills  is  not  reached  by  metaphysical  specula- 
tion, but  is  most  immediate.  All  objects,  moreover,  are  the 
objects  of  the  will  taking  attitudes.  The  whole  science 
of  psychology,  as,  indeed,  every  science,  is  merely  the  crea- 
tion of  the  subjective  will  which,  for  purposes  of  observa- 
tion, description,  and  explanation,  conditions  the  conception 
of  a  world  stripped  of  values;  and  this  transformation  of 
reality  into  a  system  of  perceivable  objects  may  be  called 
the  most  significant  deed  of  valuating  thought.  Real  ob- 
jects, then,  are  valuable;  but  physical  and  psychical  ob- 
jects, separated  as  they  are  from  immediate  reality,  have 
not  value,  but  existence.  Though  by  this  logical  process — 
and  it  is  a  purely  logical,  not  a  psychological  process — all 
the  relations  to  the  actual  self  are  dispensed  with,  yet  the 
relations  to  the  experiencing  self  must  be  maintained,  even 
when  a  psycho-physical  subject  has  been  put  in  place  of  the 
real  self,  because  through  this  relation  objects  have  their 
existence.    The  distinction  between  subject  and  object  is 

319 


APPENDIX 


the  essential  condition  for  descriptive  sciences.    Further, 
it   is  the   objectifying   treatment    that   characterizes   the 
descriptive  or  explanatory  sciences  in  contrast  to  the  sub- 
jectifying  treatment   of   the   historical   sciences.    Never- 
theless, neither  the  subjectifying  nor  the  objectifying  view 
alone  make  a  science.     The  natural  viewpoint  of  naive  prac- 
tical life  is  subjectifying;  yet  every  view  of  objects  as  exist- 
ing independently  of  the  valuating  self  is  an  objectifying 
view,  such  as  we  may  take  at  any  moment  of  our  own  or- 
ganism or  of  the  body  of  a  fellow  man,  without  necessarily 
being  scientific.     Nevertheless  the  same  distinction  holds 
for  the  two  kinds  of  sciences,  the  historical  and  normative 
sciences,  which  subjectify  their  material  and  connect  and 
order  by  values,  and  the  natural  or  descriptive  sciences, 
which  objectify  their  material  and  resolve  it  into  elements. 
For  the  descriptive  sciences,  as  has  been  said,  in  fact,  for 
every  science,  it  is  the  distinction  between  subject  and  ob- 
ject that  is  essential,  and  not  the  distinction  between  psy- 
chical and  physical  phenomena.     Whence  th^n  comes  the 
distinction  between  physical  and  psychical?    The  world 
considered  as  object  is  in  time  and  space,  whereas  the  act 
of  the  subject  is  out  of  time  and  space,  that  is,  it  is  not 
concerned  with   these   categories   at   all.     This   time-and- 
spaceless  subject  cannot  be  characterized  as  psychical,  for 
the  subject  that  takes  attitudes  cannot  be  described,  but 
is  understood.     If  the  self  that  takes  attitudes  cannot  be 
described,  a  describable  self  must  be  put  in  its  place  for 
the  purpose  of  observation;  therefore  the  self  to  which 
objects  are  given,  that  is,  the  perceiving  self,  is  substituted 
for  the  willing  self.    Now  physical  things  are  the  objects 
valid  for  several  actual  subjects  considered  as  perceivable 
objects,  separated  from  actuality.     Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  even  in  the  recognition  of  physical  objects,  the  sub- 
jective self  is  always  the  starting  point  and  not  the  per- 
ceiving substitute  or  consciousness.     If  those  objects  that 

320 


APPENDIX 


several  subjects  may  perceive,  or  rather  that  are  perceiv- 
able by  consciousness  in  general,  are  called  physical,  there 
remain  those  objects  that  can  be  experienced  by  one  sub- 
ject only,  or  those  objects  that  are  given  only  to  the  in- 
dividual consciousness — the  psychical  objects.  The  con- 
ception of  physical  and  psychical  phenomena,  accordingly, 
is  quite  distinct  from  the  conception  of  the  ^abjective  and 
the  objective. 

This  definition  of  psychical  and  physical  phenomena  is 
not  enough ;  there  is  a  more  significant  principle  by  which 
the  antithesis  is  made,  though  one  bound  up  with  the  prin- 
ciple just  stated.  We  must  inquire  first  what  conditions 
causal  necessity,  without  which  scientific  explanation  is 
unthinkable.  Mere  regularity  of  occurrence  does  not  make 
causal  necessity,  neither  is  the  principle  of  cause  and  ef- 
fect enough,  because  it  cannot  state  which  is  cause  and 
which  is  effect.  The  solution  is  that  all  causal  connection 
is  a  seeking  after  the  identity  of  objects,  just  as  all  logical 
connection  is  a  seeking  after  the  identity  of  subjective  acts. 
Identity  is  attained  in  physics  through  the  conception  of 
unperceived  parts  by  which  phenomena  are  explained — in 
the  postulating  of  energies  as  well  as  of  atoms.  It  is  in  the 
interest  of  recognizing  this  connection  through  identity 
for  the  purpose  of  description  and  explanation  that  physi- 
cal nature  is  deduced  from  immediate  reality.  Now,  after 
this  transformation  has  been  made,  when  all  objects  that 
may  be  identified  in  all  their  stages,  hence  brought  into 
causal  connection,  have  been  abstracted  from  reality,  there 
remain  the  psychical  phenomena,  or  those  that  cannot  be 
brought  into  a  causal  connection.  It  is  in  the  interest  of 
recognizing  connection  that  the  division  of  objects  into 
psychical  and  physical  has  been  created.  It  is  the  prac- 
tical scientific  interest  in  the  connection  of  objects  that  may 
determine  the  behavior  of  fellow  man,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  theoretical  interest  in  psychical  phenomena  for 

321 


APPENDIX 


truth's  sake,  on  the  other,  that  condition  the  science  of 
psychology. 

The  actual  subjective  attituder  is  not  psychical,  it  has 
not  existence,  but  validity.  Therefore  the  study  of  the 
real  will  does  not  belong  to  psychology,  but  to  ethics,  and 
the  pre-scientific  view,  of  life  has  no  reason  to  observe  sub- 
jective functions  psychologically.  When  the  individual  is 
objectified,  the  time-and-spaceless  acts  fall  away,  and  there 
remain  his  objects  and  ideas,  on  the  one  hand,  and  his 
body  on  ther  other.  It  is  the  body  which,  in  the  psycho- 
physical world,  is  the  constant  center  for  individual  de- 
termination of  objects  and  acts  and  ideas,  whereas  the 
personality  is  the  center  in  the  world  of  values.  This  psy- 
cho-physical conception  of  self  is  naturally  derived  from 
the  conception  of  other  individuals.  After  the  psycho- 
physical organism  has  been  substituted  for  the  actual  sub- 
ject, the  attitudes  taken  by  the  original  subject,  even  when 
they  have  been  objectified,  cannot  justifiably  be  classed 
with  ideas.  It  is  thus  the  epistemological  origin  of  wills 
that  justifies  psychology  in  separating  them  from  ideas. 
Nevertheless,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  psychological 
subject  knows  nothing  through  its  ideas  and  wants  nothing 
by  its  volitions,  that  both  ideas  and  volitions  are  merely 
observable  phenomena,  describable  objects,  in  spite  of  the 
distinction  derived  from  their  subjective  origin.  For  this 
reason  the  distinction  between  intellectual  and  voluntary 
psychology  is  meaningless  because  such  distinction  belongs 
to  the  subjectifying  view.  Only  where  the  subject  has 
been  transformed  into  a  perceiving  consciousness  can  psy- 
chical objects  be  found;  but  where  there  never  was  an 
actual  subject  transformable  into  a  psycho-physical  organ- 
ism, there  can  be  no  psychical  phenomena  either.  Thus 
the  psychical  attributes  of  animals  can  be  recognized  only 
in  as  much  as  animals  are  originally  considered  willing 
subjects.    The  monistic  theory  according  to  which  each 


32 


APPENDIX 


atom  is  supposed  to  have  a  psychical  accompaniment  is 
vulnerable  on  this  point:  the  resolution  of  any  phenome- 
non into  a  psycho-physical  duality  is  possible  only  where 
a  subject  is  recognized,  therefore  animism  is  possible  only 
when  all  nature  is  recognized  as  subject. 

Now  that  the  science  of  psychology  has  been  defined 
epistemologically,  the  author  in  the  following  chapters  il- 
luminates the  relation  of  psychology  to  history,  to  ethics, 
to  religion,  to  law,  to  education. 

Sciences  must  deal  with  general  principles  in  as  much 
as  they  bind  together  single  facts,  and  with  single  facts  in 
their  subordination  to  general  principles.  History  rep- 
resents events  that  have  happened  once;  natural  sciences, 
too,  often  give  accounts  of  single  occurrences.  The  antithe- 
sis between  science  as  dealing  with  general  principles  and 
history  as  concerned  with  single  occurrences  therefore  can- 
not be  made.  History,  like  the  natural  sciences,  seeks 
identity  in  connection.  The  identity,  however,  is  not 
causal,  but  teleological,  and  the  units  of  a  historical  sys- 
tem are  wills.  The  object  of  history  is  to  transform  our 
and  others*  wills  so  that  they  may  fit  into  a  system  of  con- 
nected wills.  History,  then,  has  in  common  with  natural 
science  a  seeking  after  identity  in  a  connected  system. 
The  aims  of  both  history  and  science  contrast,  in  this 
point,  with  the  aim  of  art,  which  seeks  not  connection, 
but  isolation,  as  this  is  the  condition  for  the  beauty  of 
any  object  of  art.  In  both  history  and  art  the  subjective 
treatment  is  essential.  The  material  that  history  treats 
may,  however,  be  material  for  psychology  also — that  is, 
it  may  be  objectified  instead  of  subjectified,  and  fitted  into 
a  causal  system  of  connected  elements  instead  of  a  teleo- 
logical system  of  connected  wills.  Social  psychology  to- 
gether with  social  physiology  make  the  science  of  sociology, 
which  considers  social  groups  in  such  causal  systems  and 
determines  their  laws.    It  is  absolutely  necessary^  how- 

323 


APPENDIX 


ever,  that  the  subjective  and  the  causal  systems  be  kept 
distinct,  else  the  inexplicable  phenomena  of  the  one  will 
be  pushed  over  into  the  other  with  resulting  confusion. 

The  contrast  between  subjectified  and  objectified  mate- 
rial holds  true  also  when  one  considers  the  relation  between 
psychology  and  the  normative  sciences.  Morality,  beauty, 
and  truth  are  determined  by  absolute  values,  and  these 
can  never  be  exchanged  for  psycho-physical  entities.  To 
deny  these  values  involves  a  contradiction,  for  the  denial 
itself  relies  on  the  absolute  validity  of  its  truthfulness. 
The  same  holds  true  of  ethical  values,  for  no  denial  of 
them  can  be  made  that  does  not  involve  a  claim  to  the 
ethical  quality  of  truthfulness  on  the  part  of  the  one  who 
denies.  In  the  realms  of  ethics  and  SBSthetics,  however, 
the  overindividual  will,  which  creates  the  values,  is  al- 
ways accompanied  by  an  individual  will.  Thus  a  thing  of 
beauty  is  at  the  same  time  a  pleasure  to  the  individual, 
and  a  deed  of  absolute  worth  is  at  the  same  time  desirable 
for  one  or  more  individual  wills.  The  material  for  these 
individual  wills  can  be  psychologized,  that  is,  it  can  be 
objectified  and  fitted  into  a  causal  connection.  Thus  the 
act  of  a  hero  or  the  work  of  a  sculptor  may  be  studied  as 
psychological  phenomena ;  but  the  absolute  truth  or  beauty 
of  the  moral  deed  or  of  the  artistic  creation  is  not  affected 
thereby. 

As  for  logic,  its  relations,  no  less  than  the  demands  of 
ethics  and  aesthetics,  do  not  depend  on  psychology ;  indeed, 
logical  relations  can  only  exist  between  non-psychological 
subjects,  and  the  object  of  logical  thought  is  not  a  psycho- 
logical object.  The  logical  acts  that  create  the  entire  sys- 
tem of  psychological  connections  can  obviously  not  depend 
on  that  which  they  have  created.  Logical  generalizations 
are  not  laws  of  nature,  but  laws  of  valuation,  and  the 
logical  principle  of  connection  may  be  considered  parallel 

324 


APPENDIX 


to,  but  can  never  be  identical  with,  the  causal  laAV  of  the 
psychological  processes. 

Nevertheless,  although  the  logical  process  as  such  is  be- 
yond the  pale  of  psychological  rules,  this  process  may 
voluntarily  be  transformed  into  psycho-physical  material, 
by  considering  it  as  object  separated  from  the  original  sub- 
ject. It  must  be  kept  in  mind,  however,  that  the  psycho- 
logical content  of  consciousness  is  never  knowledge,  and 
that  logical  realitj^  cannot  be  proved  by  psychological  facts. 
For  ultimate  truths  are  not  found,  but  demanded,  and 
there  is  no  fact  about  which  psychology  and  epistemology 
can  decide  jointly. 

Finally,  in  considering  the  relation  of  psychology  to  re- 
ligion, the  author  has  pointed  out  the  absolute  value  of  re- 
ligion demanded  by  the  over-individual  will,  which  has  its 
reality  aside  from  and  beyond  the  religious  hopes  and  ex- 
periences of  the  individual.  The  religious  life  of  the  in- 
dividual, however,  though  still  distinct  from  the  absolute 
realities  of  over-individual  religion,  is  none  the  less  entirely 
non-psychological.  In  all  sciences,  whenever  there  is  a  gap 
in  what  is  known,  this  can  be  filled  out  only  by  something 
possible  to  experience.  Religion  supplements  the  experi- 
enceable.  The  subjective  activity  of  the  self,  the  recognizd 
subjective  activity  of  others  and  the  objects  of  such  activity 
are  supplemented  respectively  by  conceptions  as  of  eternal 
life,  of  sinless  personalities,  and  of  heaven.  The  totality 
of  all  personalities,  that  is,  the  over-individual  will,  is  sup- 
plemented by  the  idea  of  divinity.  A  psychological  study 
of  the  objects  of  religion,  that  is,  of  that  by  which  ex- 
perience is  supplemented,  is,  of  course,  impossible ;  for  eter- 
nal life  no  psycho-physical  substitute  is  conceivable.  The 
subjective  processes  of  the  believing  individual,  however, 
like  his  logical  or  ethical  processes,  may  be  objectified  for 
psychological  observation,  and  a  psycho-physical  organism 

325 


APPENDIX 

substituted  for  the  original  subject.  In  this  way  religious 
experience  is  frequently  material  for  sociological  study. 
Yet  this  study  of  objectified  processes  must  never  be  con- 
fused with  normative  religion,  for  the  religious  realities  can 
never  be  approached,  much  less  studied  or  judged  by  psy- 
chology. 

The  author's  views  about  the  relation  of  psychology  to 
practical  life,  to  mysticism,  to  law,  to  education  have  been 
illumined  so  well  in  more  popular  presentations,  that  it 
would  be  redundant  to  give  them  here,  although  they  com- 
plete the  first  part  of  the  comprehensive  Grundzuge  der 
Psychologie  or  Principles  of  Psychology. 

An  altogether  different  book  appeared  in  November,  1901, 
a  volume  of  essays  that  won  a  popularity  not  only  sudden 
but  lasting  and  was  a  herald  of  the  author's  career  as  a 
publicist  and  critic  of  current  life  and  thought.  *'The 
American  Traits"  was  the  first  spontaneous  expression  of 
the  hearty  and  thoughtful  interest  that  the  young  scholar 
felt  for  his  surroundings,  which  he  could  not  yet  take  for 
granted,  but  which  suggested  to  him  problems  that  would 
easily  escape  the  indifferent  or  the  too  accustomed  observer. 
It  was  said  of  him  at  the  time  that  he  looked  at  **the 
American  world  through  German  eyes  with  Harvard  astig- 
matism.'* The  resulting  views  were  crystallized  in  popu- 
lar essays  that  first  appeared  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  and 
in  the  International  Monthly  and  were  then  gathered  into 
a  volume.  This  was  dedicated  to  ''Frederic  William  Holls, 
Member  of  the  Permanent  Court  of  Arbitration  at  the 
Hague,  Ideal  Type  of  the  American  of  German  descent." 

It  would  have  been  easy  for  Miinsterberg  throughout  his 
life,  while  he  had  the  welfare  of  two  countries  equally  at 
heart,  to  praise  each  to  its  face  and  reserve  blame  for  the 
one  to  which  he  was  not  speaking.  Nevertheless,  though 
nothing  was  more  foreign  to  his  nature  than  harshness  or 

326 


APPENDIX 

severity,  and  he  advocated  the  principle  of  audiatur  et 
altera  pars  rather  than  that  of  finding  fault,  yet  he  chose 
the  thornier  path  of  showing  each  country  its  own  faults 
and  the  virtues  of  the  other,  believing  this  method  more 
wholesome  than  that  of  flattery.  This  principle  he  ex- 
plains himself  in  the  preface  to  American  Traits: 

I  have  published  on  the  other  side  scores  of  articles  and  essays, 
and  shall  soon  put  before  the  German  public  an  entire  book  on 
American  life,  a  book  which  is  far  less  fragmentary  than  this, 
and  deals  in  a  detailed  way  with  the  political,  economic,  intel- 
lectual and  social  aspects  of  American  culture.  Its  purpose  is 
to  illuminate  and  defend  a  culture  which  I  have  learned  to  ad- 
mire and  which  is  so  greatly  misunderstood  over  there;  it  seeks 
to  interpret  systematically  the  democratic  ideals  of  America.  It 
will  be  written  for  Germans  only. 

American  Traits  was  written  for  Americans  only. 

The  opening  essay  **The  Americans"  was  his  first  plea 
for  a  better  understanding  between  the  two  great  peoples, 
a  plea  that  he  was  destined  to  repeat  throughout  his  life, 
prompted  by  an  ever  broadening  vision.  In  this  essay  he 
considers  as  the  keynote  of  the  lack  of  understanding  the 
prejudiced  and  erroneous  belief  on  the  part  of  Germans 
that  Americans  have  no  idealism  and  on  the  part  of  Ameri- 
cans that  Germans  have  no  freedom.  It  was  his  earnest 
belief  that  by  revealing  the  error  of  such  prejudices,  a 
more  sympathetic  approach  might  be  accomplished. 

The  author  begins  the  essay  on  ''Education"  with  a 
reminiscence  of  his  own  childhood.  "There  was  no  lack 
of  opportunity  to  follow  up  our  inclinations;  to  use  the 
terminology  of  modern  pedagogy,  we  '  found '  ourselves.  I 
found  myself,  too;  but— in  this  respect  I  did  not  behave 
exactly  according  to  the  prescribed  scheme  of  this  same 
pedagogy,  I  am  sorry  to  say— I  found  myself  every  two  or 
three  years,  as  some  one  very  different  from  the  former 
individual  whom  I  had  had  the  pleasure  to  discover."    He 

327 


APPENDIX 


sums  up  the  list  of  his  passions — first  for  botany ;  then  for 
electrical  machines ;  then  at  fifteen  for  comparative  religion, 
including  the  study  of  Arabic  and  reading  of  the  Koran; 
later  that  for  ethnology  and  excavations,  and  so  on  till 
finally,  **in  the  middle  of  my  philosophical  studies,  I  came 
to  psychology  and  the  lightning  struck/'  In  spite  of  these 
many  distractions,  MUnsterberg  graduated  easily  from  the 
** Gymnasium"  at  eighteen,  which  meant  that  he  had 
reached  a  point  in  his  education  as  advanced  as  that  of 
the  end  of  the  sophomore  year  in  a  good  American  college. 
That  the  comparatively  advanced  age  of  high  school  and 
college  graduates  made  him  reflect  on  its  causes  is  not 
surprising.  It  was  his  conviction  that  the  success  of  the 
methods  used  in  the  schools  of  his  youth  lay  in  the  fact 
that  the  teachers  mastered  their  subjects  and  could  there- 
fore impart  them  with  the  enthusiasm  of  true  scholars. 
Through  better  teachers  the  high  school  and  college  age 
would  be  reached  sooner;  therefore  future  teachers  would 
be  able,  without  loss  of  time,  to  spend  more  years  on  their 
preparation. 

The  schools  of  this  country  seem  to  him  to  suffer  also 
from  the  application  either  of  the  university  or  of  the 
kindergarten  method,  that  is,  the  tendency  to  prepare  the 
pupil  too  ybung  for  his  future  professional  life  or  to  cater 
to  his  liking  and  eliminate  effort  as  much  as  possible. 
Against  the  plan  of  preparing  for  professional  studies  at  an 
early  age  he  objects  that  the  mental  discipline  as  well  as  the 
cultural  inspiration  from  such  studies  as  Greek  and  Latin 
can  be  won  by  the  pupil  only  now  or  never,  whereas  the 
knowledge  necessary  for  the  individual  profession  may  be 
gained  later.  The  greater  danger  seems  to  him  the  appeal 
to  the  whims  of  the  pupil.  **A11  instruction  which  is  good 
must  be  interesting;  but  does  it  follow  therefrom  that  all 
instruction  which  is  interesting  must  also  be  good  t ' ' 

The  essay  on  *' Education'*   leads  up   to  the  one  on 

328 


APPENDIX 


'* Scholarship,''  which  made  a  decided  impression  at  the 
time  of  its  first  appearance  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,    Miin- 
sterberg  could  not  argue  enough  for  an  intellectually  free, 
productive  scholarship  in  American  universities.    In  this  es- 
say he  maintains  that  what  is  needed  is  an  original,  fearless, 
critical  point  of  view,  and  that  the  fact  is  overlooked  that 
**  highest  independence  of  character  can  go  hand  in  hand 
with  the  most  slavish  intellectual  dependence."     To  the 
author  teaching  and  scholarship  seem  as  different  as  pho- 
tography and  art.     He  pleads  that  every  one  intending 
to  teach  in  a  college  or  high  school  should  take  a  doctor's 
degree,  for  *Hhe  spark  of  active  scholarship  must  have 
touched  him"  to  make  him  a  truly  effective  teacher.    But 
above   all,   the  university  teacher  should  be  a   creative 
thinker  who  has  made  some  original  contribution  to  scholar- 
ship and  does  not  content  himself  with  merely  presenting 
what  has  been  contributed  before  him.    Many  of  the  young 
scholars,  whose  doctor  theses  promise  a  fruitful  future, 
prove  disappointing  after  they  have  once  entered  the  rut 
of  college  teaching.    They  become  overburdened  with  recita- 
tion work,  blue-book  reading,  elementary  teaching,  etc.  and 
productive  work  is  postponed  from  year  to  year  until  the 
necessary  enthusiasm  and  initiative  are  lost.     Moreover, 
the  small  salary  forces  the  university  teacher  into  lucrative 
writing  to  the  neglect  of  scholarly  work  which  promises  no 
immediate  financial  return  and  which  requires  strength 
and  leisure.     Nevertheless  it  is  not  so  much  the  lack  of 
time  and  money  that  keeps  back  the  university  teacher, 
as  the  *' absence  of  a  decided  premium*  upon  scholarly 
production. ' '    The  ideals  of  the  scholar  are  not  valued  by 
the  trustees  or  by  the  alumni  of  most  universities,  nor  are 
they  respected  enough  by  the  general  public.    As  money 
is  the  recognized  measure  of  success  in  America,  a  high 
salary  offered  to  a  creative  scholar  of  the  first  rank  would 
raise  the  social  prestige  of  scholarship  in  the  eyes  of  the 

329 


APPENDIX 


public,  would  attract  the  best  young  men  who  are  now 
frightened  away  from  a  career  that  promises  so  little 
reward,  and  would  give  the  professors  themselves  repose 
for  creative  work. 

The  essay  on  ** Women"  may  surprise  those  who  remem- 
ber with  what  devoted  enthusiasm'  Miinsterberg  promoted 
the  work  of  his  women  students,  how  serious  an  interest  he 
took  in  the  intellectual  life  and  the  careers  of  the  women  he 
knew.  But  this  essay,  although  in  it  he  deplores  the  prev- 
alent tendency  of  the  woman  with  college  education  to 
turn  away  from  marriage,  as  the  lesser  happiness,  to  other 
vocations,  after  all  is  not  a  plea  for  the  decrease  of  women 's 
intellectual  equipment,  but  for  an  increase  of  man's  share 
in  the  cultural  life  of  the  country.  In  the  realms  of  cul- 
ture it  seems  to  the  author  that  not  an  equality  between 
men  and  women  has  been  established,  but  an  artificial  in- 
equality, which  developed  naturally  from  the  pioneer  con- 
ditions during  the  early  life  of  the  nation  by  which  the  un- 
folding of  the  country's  resources  became  the  function  of 
man  and  the  task  of  importing  European  ready-made  cul- 
ture and  with  it  leavening  the  nation's  life  fell  to  women. 
Hence  the  intellectual  and  artistic  life  of  the  country  has 
a  decided  feminine  stamp,  and  until  within  a  decade  of 
the  author's  writing  the  characteristically  feminine  atti- 
tude toward  scholarship,  that  is,  the  receptive,  not  the 
critical,  attitude,  was  prevalent.  It  is  the  author's  hope 
that  for  the  sake  of  a  healthy  development  of  the  country's 
cultural  life  this  artificial  inequality  may  be  ended,  and  he 
exhorts  Eve  to  divide  the  apple  with  Adam. 

In  the  final  essay  on  * 'American  Democracy"  Miinster- 
berg pointed  out  that  whether,  as  the  result  of  historic 
development,  a  country  has  a  monarchical  or  a  democratic 
government,  both  aristocratic  and  democratic  tendencies 
may  coexist  in  the  same  nation.  Realistic  and  idealistic 
views  of  life  have  alternated  for  centuries  and  noble,  un- 

330 


APPENDIX 

selfish  men  have  been  devoted  to  the  aims  of  both.  Real- 
ism brings  with  it  democracy  and  utilitarianism;  in  the 
train  of  idealism  follow  aristocracy,  nationalism,  imperial- 
ism. The  alternation  of  these  philosophic  tendencies  does 
not  represent  merely  a  simple  pendulum  movement,  but 
progress  through  this  very  alternation;  it  is,  indeed,  not 
a  pendulum,  but  a  spiral  movement,  ever  leading  upward. 
That  the  idealistic  movement  is  now  in  the  ascendent  in  the 
United  States  the  author  has  no  doubt.  This  is  manifest 
not  only  in  the  growth  of  aristocratic  customs  and  tastes 
in  the  social  life  of  the  country,  in  the  establishment  of  a 
leisure  class,  in  the  fostering  of  ideal  cultural  pursuits,  but 
also  in  the  aspirations  of  national  life. 

But  even  when  we  turn  to  the  really  aristocratic  symptoms  of 
national  life,  the  question  is  not  whether  we  welcome  or  deprecate 
them;  we  are  interested  merely  in  the  question  whether  the  phe- 
nomena exist.  Thus  it  cannot  be  our  task  here  to  inquire  whether 
the  United  States  is  wise  or  unwise  in  its  policy  of  aggressive  ex^ 
pansion,  whether  it  would  be  better  to  remain  loyal  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  past,  which  reduced  the  chances  of  friction  with 
other  nations,  and  thus  saved  to  the  land  the  burdens  of  miUta- 
rism,  or  whether  the  progress  of  the  country  demands  that  new 
responsibilitieB  be  courageously  faced.  For  us  it  is  sufficient 
that  imperialism  is  a  symptom  of  the  aristocratic  attitude  towards 
man,  and  that  imperialism  is  the  creed  of  the  country. 

The  political  form  of  government  is  no  longer  problem- 
atic, but  taken  for  granted,  whereas  '*the  'problem'  has 
become  a  social  one"  and  it  is  through  the  social  move- 
ments that  a  harmonization  of  aristocratic  and  demo- 
cratic energies  has  been  reached. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

The  activities  of  the  years  covered  in  this  chapter 
were  accompanied  by  no  small  amount  of  creative  work. 
It  has  been  pointed  out  before  that  Miinsterberg 's  labors 

331 


APPENDIX 


in  behalf  of  the  Congress  of  Arts  and  Science  were  not 
wholly  practical  and  administrative,  but  that  the  con- 
ception and  working  out  of  the  plan  for  the  Congress 
was  in  itself  a  contribution  to  theoretical  knowledge. 
Various  essays  that  he  wrote  for  magazines  at  home  and 
abroad  were  expositions  of  a  new  classification  of  the 
sciences,  as  much  as  heralds  of  the  coming  Congress. 

Currents  of  new  ideas  will  not  be  confined  to  the  special 
vessels  for  which  they  were  designed,  but  will  overflow 
and  make  fertile  ever  new  regions.  As  early  as  January, 
1903,  at  the  time  when  plans  for  the  St.  Louis  Congress 
were  still  in  the  making,  Miinsterberg  embodied  in  the 
first  volume  of  Harvard  Psychological  Studies,  which  he 
edited,  a  treatise  on  the  ''Position  of  Psychology  in  the 
System  of  Knowledge."  In  this  he  briefly  defined  the 
function  of  psychology  as  he  had  done  in  a  complete  way 
in  his  Grundzuge.  The  placing  of  psychology  in  the  whole 
system  of  knowledge  gave  Miinsterberg  opportunity  to  use 
that  logical  classification  of  all  sciences  which  was  the 
foundation  of  the  St.  Louis  Congress — this  time,  how- 
ever, for  a  purely  theoretical  purpose. 

The  first  volume  of  the  Harvard  Psychological  Studies 
is  a  stout,  imposing  book  that  contains  fifteen  minute 
presentations  of  experiments  carried  on  by  advanced  gradu- 
ate students  in  the  Harvard  Psychological  Laboratory,  and 
the  conclusions  drawn  from  these  experiments.  Sinoe 
all  the  experimental  work  at  the  Laboratory  was  done 
under  Miinsterberg 's  supervision,  he  was  also  the  editor 
of  this  volume,  which  was  intended  to  preserve  the  re- 
sults of  investigations  in  a  more  unified  and  substantial 
form  than  the  loose  and  scattered  means  of  publication 
hitherto  employed. 

Miinsterberg 's  most  comprehensive  and  sustained  liter- 
ary work  of  these  years  was,  however,  along  a  quite 
different  line.    The  time  had  come  when,  after  so  many 

332 


APPENDIX 


years  of  eager  activity  among  the  people  of  the  New 
World,  he  could  no  longer  wait  to  tell  Europeans  how 
distorted  and  full  of  arbitrary  prejudices  was  their  mental 
picture  of  the  Americans.  He  knew  that  these  prejudices 
had  sprung  up  from  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  real  conditions 
and  from  the  chance  superficial  impressions  of  tourists. 
* '  The  land  of  the  almighty  dollar '  *  was  not  only  misunder- 
stood, but  not  known  from  within  as  it  was  to  the  Harvard 
scholar  whose  first  American  welcome  had  been  from  a 
metaphysician.  So  Miinsterberg  wrote  in  German,  not  a 
sketchy  impression,  but  a  thorough,  two-volume  study 
called  The  Americans  (Die  Amerikaner) ,  which  appeared 
in  1903.  The  aim  of  the  book  is  to  explain  and  interpret 
the  life  of  the  American  people  as  it  was  manifest  at  the 
time  of  its  writing,  and  although  it  contains  much  his- 
torical material  and  careful  studies  of  institutions,  never- 
theless these  institutions  are  of  interest  only  in  as  much  as 
they  express  the  desires  and  the  activities  of  the  people. 
These  two  volumes  made  a  stir  among  readers  and,  to  a 
remarkable  degree,  awakened  interest  in  American  life. 
It  even  inspired  readers  to  set  sail  and  see  for  themselves 
the  land  that  had  been  painted  in  such  appealing  colors. 
The  secret  of  the  book's  influence  was  not  so  much  the 
clearly  presented  new  information,  as  the  convincing 
power  of  the  enthusiastic  author  behind  its  statements. 

It  was  Miinsterberg  *s  unworldly,  but  dauntless  con- 
viction that  it  was  salutary,  instead  of  praising  a  people, 
to  call  attention  to  its  shortcomings  and  to  the  ways  in 
which  it  might  learn  from  other  nations  to  its  own 
profit ;  at  the  same  time  he  was  eager  to  reveal  to  an- 
other country  the  admirable  traits  of  the  people  whom 
he  had  just  criticized  for  its  own  good.  In  other  words, 
helpful  criticism  was  to  be  spread  abroad.  It  was  from 
this  conviction  that  American  Traits  with  its  critical  at- 
titude had  been  written  for  American  consumption  and 

333 


APPENDIX 


The  Americans  for  Germany.  In  spite  of  this  principle, 
Miinsterberg  yielded  to  persuasion  and  decided  to  bring 
out  an  English  version  of  the  book  also,  and  to  let  the 
Americans  see  themselves  as  others  see  them.  Dr.  Edwin 
B.  Holt,  who  had  been  Miinsterberg 's  assistant  in  the 
Harvard  laboratory,  made  an  excellent  translation  of 
The  Americans,  which  appeared  in  the  fall  of  1904. 

In  a  preface  to  the  German  book  Miinsterberg  had  said : 
**The  book  itself  gives  no  account  of  personal  experiences. 
Not  a  word  touches  upon  my  own  life ;  by  the  time  I  shall 
begin  to  exhibit  my  reminiscences  and  gather  my  notes 
together  this  book  will  long  be  antiquated."  Therein 
he  was  mistaken.  Ten  years  later,  in  1914,  the  publishers 
brought  out  a  new  and  revised  edition  of  The  Americans; 
and  it  was  not  long  after  he  had  written  the  preface  to 
this  new  edition,  that  Miinsterberg  began  to  gather  his 
notes  together  for  reminiscences  of  Twenty-Five  Years  in 
America,  which  was  destined  never  to  be  more  than  begun. 

The  Americans  is  divided  into  four  large  main  parts: 
Political  Life,  Economic  Life,  Intellectual  Life,  and  Social 
Life.  The  first  chapter  in  each  division  gives  the  keynote 
to  the  particular  phase  of  national  life  to  be  considered; 
these  chapters  are  called  respectively:  **The  Spirit  of 
Self-Direction,'*  which  dominates  the  political  life;  **The 
Spirit  of  Self-Initiative,*'  which  conditions  the  economic 
life;  *'The  Spirit  of  Self -Perfection, "  which  creates  the 
intellectual  life;  and  '*The  Spirit  of  Self -Assertion, "  which 
colors  the  social  life. 

The  spirit  of  self-direction  the  author  holds  to  be  the 
essence  of  American  political  life  from  the  foundation  of 
the  Republic,  which  was  itself  the  creation  of  a  moral  will. 
Action  according  to  this  spirit  is  that  which,  rather  than 
race  or  attachment  to  the  native  soil,  makes  the  American. 
*'To  be  an  American  means  to  cooperate  in  perpetuating 
the  spirit  of  self -direction  throughout  the  body  politic; 

334 


APPENDIX 


and  whosoever  does  not  feel  this  duty  and  actively  respond 
to  it,  although  perhaps  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  land, 
remains  an  alien  forever." 

The  eagerness  to  act  out  this  fundamental  ideal  has  re- 
sulted in  a  certain  missionary  spirit,  an  eagerness  to  instil 
these  ideals;  and  the  danger  lurking  in  this  slogan  of 
democracy  is  self-satisfied  dilettantism — **  danger  not  from 
wild  lawlessness  but  from  crass  philistinism. "  Neverthe- 
less the  author  is  well  aware  of  political  counter-currents 
that  are  keeping  this  democracy  from  being  too  one-sided 
and  losing  its  balance.  He  appreciates,  moreover,  the 
unique  fitness  of  the  constitution  for  the  nation — a  fitness 
proved  by  its  adaptation  to  undreamed  of  geographical 
expansion  as  well  as  momentous  inner  changes.  Coupled 
with  this  great  self-confidence  and  supplementary  to  it  is 
the  belief  in  the  integrity  of  one's  neighbor  as  well  as  the 
recognition  of  his  right.  This  recognition  leads  to  a  will- 
ing and  remarkably  docile  submission  to  the  majority. 
Without  this  willingness  to  submit  where  the  rules  of  the 
game  or  the  success  of  an  enterprise  demand  it,  the  Ameri- 
cans could  not  have  developed  their  unique  talent  for 
organization.  It  is  this  natural  instinct  for  coordination 
that  in  European  countries  has  to  be  replaced  by  discipline 
from  without. 

Miinsterberg  gives  considerable  attention  to  the  study 
of  the  political  parties — ^those  powerful  parties  that  prac- 
tically divide  the  whole  country  into  two  great  political 
camps  and  that  could  not  be  so  powerful  if,  as  in  other 
countries,  there  were  more  than  two.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  report  in  detail  the  author's  observation  of  the  political 
machinery.  Suffice  it  to  point  out,  merely  as  an  example 
of  his  clear  view  of  the  mainsprings  that  move  the  political 
life,  that  he  recognized  the  inner  consistency  of  the  two 
party  ideas  throughout  the  change  of  circumstances,  al- 
though he  realized  fully  the  remoteness  of  the  present 

335 


APPENDIX 


party  issues  from  the  historic  origin  of  the  party  ideals. 
No  matter  how  varied  the  conditions  under  which  they 
have  had  to  assert  themselves  may  have  been,  the  Repub- 
licans stood  consistently  for  centralization  and  the  Demo- 
crats for  anti-centralization.  The  Republicans  are  im- 
perialists and  protectionists,  the  Democrats  anti-imperial- 
ists and  free-traders;  the  Republicans  defended  the  uni- 
fied gold  standard,  the  Democrats  the  more  flexible  double 
standard.  The  seeming  paradox  that  the  Republicans 
fought  against  slavery  and  the  Democrats,  the  ardent 
champions  of  individual  freedom,  fought  to  maintain 
slavery  is  removed  if  one  considers  the  contrast  in  the 
true  historical  light.  The  Democrats  appear  then  con- 
sistently as  the  champions  of  the  individual  states^  rights, 
that  is,  of  the  anti-centralizing  forces,  as  against  the 
Republicans  who  supported  the  Union  or  the  centralization 
of  power.  The  author  speaks  of  the  unique  party  loyalty, 
of  that  conservatism  that  is  the  natural  result  of  a  con- 
stant appeal  to  party  principles  and  party  patriotism. 

A  chapter  is  given  to  the  office  of  President,  to  its  con- 
stitutional limitations  and  its  immense  power.  The  author 
explains  the  party  mechanism  by  which  the  President  ic 
made,  the  obsolete  electoral  system;  he  traces  the  careers, 
so  markedly  different,  of  McKinley,  **the  accomplished 
politician,  the  interesting  leader  of  Congress,  the  sympa- 
thetic man  who  had  no  enemies*'  and  Bryan,  the  silver- 
tongued  Nebraskan.  Of  the  safe  and  tranquil  office  of 
Vice-President  he  also  speaks,  and  of  the  stroke  of  destiny 
that  made  its  most  dynamic  incumbent  the  leader  of  the 
land.  His  unique  career  is  traced  and  of  the  Rough 
Rider  President's  administration  the  author  says: 

For  the  fanatics  of  party  Roosevelt  has  been,  of  course,  too 
independent,  while  to  the  opponents  of  party  he  has  seemed 
too  yielding.  Both  of  these  criticisms  have  been  made,  in  many 
different  connections,  since  everywhere  he  has  stood  on  a  watch 

336 


APPENDIX 


tower  above  the  fighting  lines  of  any  party.  When  in  the  strug- 
gles between  capital  and  labor  he  seriously  took  into  account 
the  just  grievances  of  the  workingtnan,  he  was  denounced  as 
a  Socialist.  And  when  he  did  not  at  once  stretch  out  his 
hand  to  demolish  all  corporations,  he  was  called  a  sei-vant  of 
the  stock  exchange.  When  he  appointed  officials  in  the  South 
without  reference  to  their  party  allegiance,  the  Republicans 
bellowed  loudly;  and  when  he  did  not  sanction  the  Southern 
outrages  against  the  negro,  the  Democrats  became  furious. 
When  everything  is  considered,  however,  he  has  observed  the 
maxim  of  President  Hayes:  "He  best  serves  his  party,  who 
serves  his  country  beat." 

In  the  description  of  the  Cabinet  offices,  warm  tribute 
is  paid  to  the  statesman  who  at  that  time  was  Secretary 
of  State,  John  Hay. 

A  chapter  is  devoted  to  Congress.  Accounts  are  given 
of  the  work  of  the  House  with  its  entire  complex  of 
committees;  of  the  hazardous  ** pilgrimage ' ^  of  a  bill  from 
its  proposal  to  the  acceptance  or  veto  by  the  President,  of 
the  '* Senatorial  courtesy,"  and  its  results,  and  the  chap- 
ter is  closed  with  the  comment: 

Yet,  on  looking  at  Congress  as  a  whole,  one  has  the  impres- 
sion that  it  accomplishes  a  tremendous  amount  of  work,  and 
in  a  more  sober,  businesslike,  and  efficient  way  than  does  any 
other  parliament  in  the  world.  There  is  less  talking  against 
time;  in  fact,  there  is  less  talking  of  any  kind,  and  because 
the  Administration  is  not  represented  at  all  there  is  less  fight- 
ing. T^e  transactions  as  a  whole  are  therefore  somewhat  less 
exciting,  a  single  Congressman  has  less  opportunity  to  become 
personally  famous.  Yet  no  American  would  desire  to  intro- 
duce a  ministerial  bench  at  the  Capitol,  or  to  have  the  next 
Congress  adopt  Austrian,  French,  German,  or  English  methods. 

In  the  chapter  on  **  Justice"  Miinsterberg  explains  the 
** common  law" — that  legal  system  which,  in  such  sharp 
contrast  to  the  Continental  European  law,  derives  its 
authority  from  decisions  in  precedent  cases,  and  thereby 
throws  on  each  new  judicial  decision  the  enormous  weight 

337 


APPENDIX 

of  responsibility  not  only  for  the  single  case,  but  for 
similar  cases  in  all  the  future.  The  author  describes  **  sta- 
tute law/*  explains  the  Constitution,  its  relation  to  juris- 
diction, and  the  momentous  power  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
the  highest  law  in  the  land. 

A  chapter  is  given  to  the  study  of  city  and  state  gov- 
ernments and  the  spirit  of  self-determination  is  shown 
everywhere  at  work.    Another  chapter  is  devoted  to  that 
elusive,  but  all-powerful  factor  in  American  political  life : 
public '  opinion.    It  is  public  opinion  that  balances  the  « 
struggle  of  parties,  indeed,  according  to  the  author,  public 
opinion  is  to  party  opposition  as  the  upper  house  of  a 
legislative  body  is  to  the  lower  house.    'Trobably  the 
most  characteristic  traits  of  public  opinion  are  a  patient 
oversight  of  mistakes  and  weaknesses,  but  relentless  con- 
tempt and  indignation  for  meanness  and  lack  of  honor. 
This  is  in  both  respects  the  very  reverse  of  the  party  spirit, 
which  is  too  apt  to  hinge  its  most  boasted  reforms  on 
trivial  evils,  and  pass  over  the  greatest  sins  in  silence. '* 
The  volatile  humor  of  public  opinion,  moreover,  is  con- 
trasted with  the  sobriety  that  is  the  dominant  note  in 
office  and  in  the  party  game   and  the  often  bombastic 
seriousness  with  which  party  campaigns  are  fought.    The 
author  tells  of  the  various  channels  through  which  public 
opinion  flows :  the  newspapers,  to  which  he  pays  high  and 
indulgent  tribute ;  the  numerous  magazines ;  the  countless 
lectures;  the  clubs;  the  after-dinner  speeches;  in  short, 
all  those  subtle,  yet  powerful  influences  that  are  over  and 
above,  yet  react  upon,  political  life. 

In  the  chapter  on  *' Problems  of  Population''  the  Indian 
problem  is  considered  and  that  most  gloomy  problem  of 
all— the  negro  question  with  all  its  infinite  complexity. 
The  author  describes  the  passionate  prejudices  and  cross 
currents  of  Northern  and  Southern  feelings,  of  personal 
antipathy  mingled  with  enthusiasm  for  race  equality,  and 

338 


APPENDIX 

of  natural  familiarity  from  old  custom  mingled  with  social 
and  political  disdain.  This  spectacle  could  be  viewed 
impartially  only  by  one  who,  like  Miinsterberg,  had  not 
been  reared  with  one  prejudice  or  the  other. 

One  chapter  is  given  to  the  **  Internal  Political  Prob- 
lems,'* another  to  the  ** External  Political  Problems." 
In  the  account  of  internal  problems  the  author  describes 
the  civil  service,  the  spoils  system  under  Andrew  Jackson, 
the  reaction  against  it,  the  Civil  Service  Commission  under 
Grant,  its  cessation  and  partial  reinstatement  and  further 
developments  along  that  line ;  the  fight  against  corruption, 
in  the  Republican  party  from  above,  in  the  Democratic 
party  from  below;  the  institution  of  Tammany  Hall  and 
the  natural  popularity  of  its  leaders;  and  of  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  public  opinion.  In  the  chapter  on  **  External 
Political  Problems*'  Miinsterberg  emphasizes  how  America 
has  always  stood  before  the  world  as  the  natural  guardian 
of  peace,  untroubled  by  the  struggles  and  clashes  of  the 
nations  across  her  two  great  frontier  oceans;  he  tells  of 
the  decisive  moral  and  material  support  of  the  Peace 
Tribunal  at  the  Hague.  Yet  he  is  not  blind  to  **the  other 
side  of  the  shield": 


*'.  .  .  all  Europe  has  become  quite  accustomed  to  considering  the 
Republic  across  the  water  as  the  firmest  partisan  of  peace.  The 
Republic  has  in  fact  been  this,  is  now,  and  always  will  be  so;  while 
the  riddle  is — ^how  can  it  be  such  a  friend  of  peace  when  it  was 
conceived  in  war,  has  settled  its  most  serious  problems  by  war, 
is  at  war  to-day,  and  presumably  will  be  at  war  many  times 


agam 


ft 


The  author  then  traces  the  arguments  for  and  against 
imperialistic  treatment  of  the  Philippines,  and  points  out 
the  growth  of  imperialism  of  which  the  attitude  toward 
rebellious  Panama  was  a  characteristic  symptom.  He 
also  considers  the  relation  of  America  to  Canada,  the 

339 


APPENDIX 

reciprocity  question  and  the  strong  attraction  which  the 
great,  still  uncultivated  tracts  of  land  in  the  Canadian 
Northwest  have  for  the  enterprising  Western  farmer  of 
the  United  States.  Lastly  the  Monroe  Doctrine  is  exam- 
ined in  detail,  its  historic  origin  in  the  desire  for  self- 
protection  and  the  fight  against  absolutism,  and  its  present 
obsoleteness.  The  writer  points  out  that  the  arbitrary 
misrule  in  the  South  American  republics  is  a  greater  con- 
tradiction to  the  spirit  of  an  ideal  democracy  than  the 
governments  of  European  constitutional  monarchies;  that 
no  conceivable  conflict  could  arise  from  European  colonies 
in  South  America;  that  Europe  is  practically  nearer, 
that  is,  more  quickly  accessible,  to  the  United  States  than 
South  America,  with  which  trade  is  but  small ;  that 
desirable  immigration  to  the  South  American  republics 
was  restricted  through  protection  by  the  Monroe  Doctrine; 
finally,  that  the  United  States,  while  maintaining  the 
Doctrine,  is  refraining  from  responsibility  for  these  re- 
publics and  is  even  rousing  their  mistrust.  Yet,  in 
spite  of  the  obsoleteness  of  the  Doctrine,  Miinsterberg  was 
convinced  that 

opposition  to  the  doctrine  from  the  side  of  Europe  would  be 
foolish,  because  no  European  country  has  any  vital  reason  for 
calling  it  in  question,  and  there  would  be  a  very  lively  war 
indeed  if  Europe  were  to  try  to  overstep  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
as  long  as  the  great  mass  of  the  American  people  still  hold 
it  sacred.  The  Monroe  Doctrine  must  and  will  succumb,  but 
it  will  only  be  through  the  convictions  of  the  Americans,  never 
because  some  European  nation  threatens  to  batter  down  the 
wall. 

In  the  second  part  of  the  book,  *'The  Economic  Life,'' 
the  author  has  had  special  opportunity  to  assert,  in  the 
face  of  fast  ingrained  European  prejudices,  his  belief  in 
the  idealistic  foundation  of  American  life.  Here  it  is  the 
spirit  of  self -initiative,  which,  together  with  the  unrivaled 

340 


APPENDIX 


natural  resources  of  the  land,  made  possible  the  great 
economic  rise  of  the  United  States.  **A  magnificent  eco- 
nomic life  such  as  that  of  America  can  never  spring  from 
impure  ethical  motives,  and  the  person  is  very  naive  who 
supposes  that  a  great  business  was  ever  built  up  by  mere 
impudence,  deception,  and  advertising.'' 

Any  one  who  observes  American  economic  life  sympa- 
thetically cannot  fail  to  understand  that  its  great  charac- 
teristic is  not  the  passive  possession  of  money,  but  the  in- 
dustrious restless  earning  of  it.  This  fundamental  trait 
is  proved  by  the  average  American's  innate  contempt  for 
dower  hunting  and  lottery,  methods  by  which  wealth  is 
gained  but  not  earned,  and  in  a  smaller  way,  by  the 
aversion  to  tips,  which  is  foreign  to  the  European  street- 
car conductor  or  newsboy.  It  is  the  value  set  on  the  deed 
itself  by  which  material  goods  are  won,  and  not  on  the 
enjoyment  of  material  possession  that  convinced  Miinster- 
berg of  the  idealistic  motives  of  American  commercial 
life.  **For  in  the  ethical  world  a  materialistic  position 
would  be  one  in  which  the  aim  of  life  was  enjoyment, 
while  that  point  of  view  would  be  idealistic  which  found 
its  motive  not  in  the  pleasant  consequences  of  the  deed, 
but  in  the  value  of  the  deed  itself." 

The  author  points  out  some  of  the  traits  that  have 
made  Americans  so  successful  in  business.  Among  these 
are  a  clever  disposition  of  time,  promptness,  and  accuracy, 
the  accomplishment  of  the  greatest  labor  with  the  least 
friction,  by  means  of  the  precise  adaptation  of  part  to 
part.  This  adjustment  leaves  the  business  man  a  far 
greater  amount  of  free  time  than  European  prejudice  has 
supposed.  Further  the  freedom  from  jealousy  and  the 
readiness  to  rely  on  the  self-respect  of  his  neighbor  gives 
the  American  vigor  and  confidence  for  industrial  enter- 
prises, and  he  is  helped  by  his  natural  talent  for  in- 
vention, which  flourishes  with  the  spirit  of  self -initiative. 

341 


APPENDIX 


That  there  are  dangers  cdso  in  this  industrial  life  the 
author  is  veil  aware — ^that  confidence  in  the  other  man 
may  lead  to  over-confidence,  carelessness,  and  wastefulness; 
that  success  and  money  as  the  measurement  of  success  may 
lead  to  easy  display ;  and  that  the  constant  forward  rush 
into  the  future  must  deprive  the  restless  worker  of  that 
lingering  attitude  that  contemplates  the  past  and  adorns 
the  present  with  beauty.  Yet  it  is  not  perfection  that 
counts  in  American  economic  life,  but  the  act  of  perfecting. 
*'In  this  sense  the  American  expresses  his  pure  idealism 
in  speaking  of  the  *  glory  of  the  imperfect.'  " 

In  the  chapter  on  ''The  Economic  Rise''  the  author 
traces  some  of  the  main  movements  of  the  economic  history 
of  the  country,  but  always  with  the  interest  focused  not 
on  the  facts  as  such  but  on  the  human  and  national 
traits  that  have  brought  them  about.  Accounts  are  given 
of  the  six  great  crises  from  the  first  one  in  1814  through 
the  one  in  1893,  of  the  revival,  the  prosperity  attending 
the  great  harvests  from  1897  to  1903,  with  the  rapid 
building  of  railroads  and  the  opening  of  new  areas  to 
trade  and  of  the  tremendous  rate  of  production.  Finally 
symptoms  are  traced  of  a  counter-movement  against  this 
** tempestuous  expansion,"  an  increased  solidity  and  safety 
in  the  building  and  operating  of  railroads,  a  greater 
soundness  in  industry,  and  the  improbability  of  another 
panic  largely  because  of  the  country's  independence  of  Eu- 
ropean capital,  through  the  fixed  nature  of  the  currency,  the 
growing  independence  of  the  agricultural  West  end  the  in- 
creased prosperity  of  the  South. 

The  ''Economic  Problems"  are  considered  not  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  economist,  but  as  problems  affecting  the 
thoughts  and  lives  of  Americans.  The  history  of  the  silver 
question  is  told,  with  its  division  of  the  Democratic  party 
into  the  Gold  Democrats  under  Cleveland  and  the  Silver 
Democrats  under  Bryan,  and  the  clamor  of  the  silver  fanatic 

342 


APPENDIX 


is  recognized  as  a  means  by  which  a  technical  controversy 
was  raised  far  beyond  its  starting  point  and  made  a  watch- 
word and  principle,  as  it  was  a  symptom  of  the  growing 
aversion  to  the  wealthy  classes.  The  author  illumines  the 
tariff  question  and  emphasizes,  in  spite  of  the  ascendancy 
of  the  protectionists  at  the  time  of  his  writing,  that  the 
subconscious  wish  of  the  entire  nation  was  for  reciprocity, 
a  wish  expressed  by  McKinley  in  his  last  speech  at  Buffalo, 
"the  same  McKinley  ...  who  more  than  any  one  else  was 
morally  responsible  for  the  high-tariff  movement  in  the 
United  States." 

The  absorbing  question  of  the  trusts  is  considered  in 
detail.  The  author  points  out  how  the  concentration  of 
power  rather  than  the  concentration  of  ownership  consti- 
tuted the  problem;  he  shows  the  great  advantages  in  the 
trust  system,  such  as  the  saving  of  expenses,  the  liberty  to 
fix  prices,  the  accumulation  of  capital,  etc.  The  writer 
also  calls  attention  to  some  dangers  felt  to  attend  the  trust 
system.  He  tells  of  the  relations  of  the  trusts  to  the  state 
and  federal  legislation,  especially  of  the  inherent  Anglo- 
Saxon  aversion  to  restraint  of  trade  that  has  roused  the 
hostility  of  public  opinion.  Light  is  thrown  on  the  skill- 
ful evasion  of  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law  by  corporations 
nomin€dly  established  in  one  state  only,  while  owning  fac- 
tories all  over  the  country;  on  the  diversity  of  state  laws 
in  regard  to  trusts,  the  hopelessness  of  bringing  trusts 
under  Federal  control  by  a  Constitutional  amendment,  and 
the  saving  possibility  of  the  Supreme  Court's  decision  that 
the  trusts  were  after  all  transacting  interstate  commerce, 
and  therefore  must  be  brought  under  the  control  of  Federal 
law.  Finally  the  author  believes  that  the  trust  problem 
will  regulate  itself,  because  the  centralization  demanded 
by  industrial  development  will  be  offset  and  counterbal- 
anced by  the  spirit  of  self -initiative. 

In   considering   the   "Labor   Question,"   Miinsterberg 

343 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


points  out  first  the  striking  prosperity  of  the  American  as 
compared  with  the  Continental  European  laborer,  due 
largely  to  the  comparative  cheapness — when  he  wrote — of 
necessities  and  goods  made  by  machinery  in  large  quanti- 
ties. He  speaks  also  of  the  laborer  *s  belief  in  the  worth 
of  his  contribution  to  the  social  organism,  a  belief  that 
makes  for  self-respect.  Socialism,  moreover,  has  no  firm 
foothold  among  the  laboring  classes  because  of  the  be- 
lief in  equal  opportunity  for  the  reward  of  achieve- 
ment. The  development  of  the  labor  organizations  is 
traced,  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  with  their  moral  purpose 
but  impractical  system,  and  of  the  trade-unions  proper. 
Account  is  given  of  the  independent  and  the  federated 
unions,  their  growing  power,  and  their  fight  not  only  for 
the  increase  of  wages  and  curtailment  of  working  hours, 
but  for  the  recognition  of  the  union  as  a  power.  The 
author  describes  the  effect  of  union  pressure  on  the  stat- 
utes of  various  states,  among  which  Massachusetts  has 
been  a  leader  in  salutary  labor  legislation.  The  bureaus 
for  labor  statistics  in  the  different  states  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Department  of  Labor  in  Washington  are 
pointed  out  as  symptoms  of  the  ever  growing  importanc;^ 
of  labor  problems.  During  the  great  coal  strike  in  1902, 
Roosevelt's  first  step  in  settling  the  grave  conflict  by 
arbitration  is  emphasized  as  a  precedent  action  and  one 
that  marked  the  turning  point  in  public  opinion. 

And  so  public  opinion  has  come  round  to  think  that  violence 
on  the  part  of  workingrmen,  and  refusal  to  treat  with  trades- 
unions  on  the  part  of  employers  are  equally  to  be  condemned. 
The  community  will  hardly  again  permit  capital  and  labor  to 
fight  out  their  battles  in  public  and  make  the  whole  nation 
suffer.  It  demands  that,  now  that  labor  is  actually  organized 
in  unions,  disputes  shall  be  brought  up  .for  settlement  before 
delegates  from  both  sides,  and  that  where  these  cannot  come 
to  a  solution,  the  matter  shall  be  brought  before  a  neutral  court 
of  arbitration  which  both  sides  agree  to  recognize. 

344 


The  tendency  of  both  trusts  and  unions  to  be  tyrannical 
is  not  overlooked,  it  is  a  tendency  apparent  in  the  forma- 
tion of  employers*  unions  and  in  the  agreements  between 
such  employers'  unions  and  the  trade-unions. 

In  the  third  part  of  the  book,  a  contemplation  of  Ameri- 
can ** Intellectual  Life,''  the  spirit  of  self-perfection  is 
given  as  the  keynote.  The  growth  of  this  spirit  is  traced 
from  its  origin  with  the  early  settlers,  particularly  those 
of  New  England  whose  intellectual  life  colored  that  of 
all  the  Colonists.  This  leadership  \^ias  maintained  from 
the  founding  of  Harvard  in  1636  and  the  time  when  Cot- 
ton Mather  and  later  Jonathan  Edwards  exerted  their 
learned  and  religious  influence,  through  the  golden  age 
of  New  England,  when  Lowell,  Longfellow,  Holmes,  Whit- 
tier,  and  Hawthorne  gave  the  moral  vigor  of  their 
thoughts  and  the  dignified  charm  of  their  imaginations, 
and  the  School  of  Philosophy  grew  round  **the  Sage  of 
Concord. ' '  Here  it  was  that  the  leading  intellectual  maga- 
zines first  sprang  up,  that  Parker,  Garrison,  Phillips,  and 
Sumner  roused  the  public  with  their  moral  protests,  here 
historians  like  Prescott,  Sparks,  Bancroft,  Parkman  and 
Motley  applied  the  methods  of  quiet  scholarly  investiga- 
tion; here  serious  music  was  first  cultivated  and  the  first 
large  public  library  established. 

The  dominant  feature  of  the  intellectual  life  of  New 
England  that  impressed  its  stamp  on  that  of  the  whole 
country  was  Calvinistic  Puritanism,  the  very  force  that 
had  driven  the  pilgrims  to  the  strange  rugged  shores — 
and  the  essence  of  this  Puritanism  was  the  perfection  of 
the  individual  before  God. 

From  the  meagre  days  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  down  to  the 
time  when  Emerson  in  rhapsodic  flights  preached  the  ethical 
idealism  of  Fichte  and  Longfellow  wrote  his  "Psalm  of  Life," 
the  old  Puritan  spirit  remained  predominant. 

One    fundamental    note    sounded    through    thd    whole.    Life 

345 


* 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


was  not  to  be  lived  for  the  sake  of  pleasure,  but  for  the  sake 
of  duty.  Existence  got  its  sense  and  value  only  in  ethical 
endeavor;  self-perfection  was  the  great  duty  which  took  preced- 
ence over  all  others. 

This  spirit  of  self-perfection,  rooted  as  it  was  in  Puri- 
tanism, did  not  seek  to  create  science  and  art  for  their 
own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  their  power  to  purify  and 
ennoble  the  individual  soul.  '*In  the  language  of  the 
newer  time  we  might  say  that  a  community  developed 
under  Puritan  itifluencyes  carqd  considerably  more  for 
the  culture  of  its  individual  membert  than  for  the 
creation  of  things  intellectual,  that  the  intellectual  worker 
did  not  set  out  to  perfect  art  and  science,  but  aimed  by 
means  of  art  and  science  to  perfect  himself.''  Parallel 
with  the  ethical  idealism  of  New  England  ran  that  other 
motive  common  to  the  pioneers  in  all  parts  of  the  country 

^utilitarianism.    *'A  greater  antithesis  could  hardly  be 

thought  of;  and  nevertheless  the  desire  for  self-perfection 
is  common  to  both  ..."  for  it  is  in  the  interest  of  the 
greatest  prosperity  and  the  greatest  possible  well-being  of 
the  greatest  number  that  the  mind  of  the  individual  should 
be  trained  for  the  best  intellectual  achievement.  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  who  was  moralist  as  well  as  scientist  and 
statesman,  was  an  exponent  of  utilitarianism  and  did  not 
feel  at  home  in  Boston  where  "for  the  best  people  life 
was  thought  to  be  a  'trembling  walk  with  God!'  "  Es- 
pecially from  the  West,  with  its  practical  problems,  utili- 
tarianism has  made  itself  felt;  yet  its  intellectual  out- 
come dcfes  not  difttr  much  from  that  of  the  Puritan  mo- 
tive. The  actual  state  of  the  national  culture  can  be 
understood  only  as  a  working  together  of  these  two  types 
of  the  spirit  of  self-perfection;  and  eVen  to-day,  the 
Puritan  spirit  is  the  stronger— the  spirit  of  New  England 

is  in  the  lead. 
The  native  hue  of  American  culture  has  been  somewhat 

346 


lost  to  the  sight  of  the  onlooker,  because  of  considerable 
foreign  influence,  due  to  the  American's  love  of  travel,  the 
tendency  to  imitate,  and  the  effect  of  immigration;  more- 
over, the  large  purchasing  power  of  the  masses  pushes 
the  more  trivial  taste  rather  into  the  foreground.  Never- 
theless, through  all  distracting  appearances,  the  desire  for 
self-perfection  is  everywhere  manifest. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  examine  in  detail  the  author's 
thorough  presentation  of  the  chief  movements  and  the 
various  institutions  in  the  school  and  university  life  of 
the  country,  and  the  relations  of  the  institutions  to  the 
states  and  the  local  communities.  Miinsterberg's  critical 
views  of  the  educational  life  of  the  country,  moreover, 
appear  in  other  writings.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  in  the 
school  life  he  sees  at  work  the  spirit  of  self-perfection 
united  with  the  spirit  of  self-determination.  He  speaks 
of  the  absence  of  a  uniform  school  system  throughout  the 
land,  which  allows  free  play  for  local  differences,  of  the 
sliding  scale  of  gradations  instead  of  definite  lines  of 
demarcation  in  schools.  He  speaks  of  coeducation ;  of  the 
unique  preponderance  of  women  teachers  and  their  stamp 
on  the  school  life ;  of  the  imported  kindergarten  movement, 
of  the  university  extension  courses  cmd  the  extraordinary 
multitude  of  opportunities  for  intellectual  self-perfection 
given  to  those  who  have  finished  school  and  cannot  continue 
their  formal  instruction. 

After  having  dwelt  on  the  kindergarten,  one  is  somewhat 
tempted  to  think  also  of  these  as  men  and  women  gardens. 
There  is  really  some  resemblance  to  a  sort  of  intellectual  garden, 
where  no  painful  effort  or  hard  work  is  laid  out  for  the  young 
men  and  women  who  wander  there  carelessly  to  pluck  the 
flowers.  But  it  is,  perhaps,  rather  too  easy  for  the  trained 
person  to  be  unjust  to  such  informal  means  of  culture. 

With  sympathetic  understanding  Miinsterberg  tells  of 

347 


;  [ 


it 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


the  origin  and  growth  of  the  unique  Chautauqua  institu- 
tions.    Of  their  founder,  Bishop  Vincent,  he  says: 

He  has  done  more  than  any  one  else  toward  bringing  harmony 
into  the  monotonous  and  intellectually  hungry  lives  of  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  throughout  the  country,  and  especially  of 
public-school  teachers.  And  in  this  work  of  instruction,  the 
religious  strengthening,  the  instillation  of  personal  contentment, 
patriotic  enthusiasm,  aesthetic  joy  in  Ufe,  and  moral  inspiration, 
are  not  to  be  separated. 

The  author  further  emphasizes  not  only  the  great  num- 
ber of  lectures  held  during  the  year,  but  the  remarkable 
excellence  of  many  of  these,  particularly  their  perfection 
of  form.  The  various  institutes  for  popular  lectures  by 
men  of  high  scholarship  are  of  course  considered,  and  es- 
pecially that  pinnacle  of  the  lecture  system — the  Lowell 
Institute  in  Boston.  That  there  is  a  certain  danger  to 
creative  scholarship  in  the  great  emphasis  on  elegance  of 
form  and  popular  presentation  in  the  public  lecture  sys- 
tem, the  author  is  well  aware,  yet  he  finds  promising  signs 
of  tendencies  to  overcome  this  danger  and,  above  all, 
values  the  immeasurable  service  of  these  popular  lectures. 
*  *  It  is  at  least  clear  that  they  have  spread  everywhere  the 
most  profound  desire  for  culture  and  enlightenment,  and 
for  this  reason  they  have  been  the  necessary  system  for 
a  people  so  informed  with  the  spirit  of  individual  self- 
perfection.'' 

In  the  chapter  on  the  universities  the  author  gives  an 
account  of  the  almost  infinite  variety  of  learned  standards, 
from  those  used  by  the  small  colleges,  equivalent  to  pre- 
paratory schools,  to  those  of  .the  large  universities  with 
their  complexes  of  professional  schools.  He  traces  the 
origin  of  the  college  in  the  English  idea  of  providing  edu- 
cation for  a  gentleman  and  emphasizes  the  important 
position  of  the  college  in  university  life.    *'The  college 

348 


is  the  soul  of  the  university.  The  college  is  to-day,  more 
than  ever,  the  soul  of  the  whole  nation.''  He  points  to 
the  fact,  so  astonishing  to  Europeans,  that  in  the  academic 
history  of  the  country  the  private  institutions  have  largely 
outranked  the  state  universities.  A  sketch  is  made  of  the 
history  of  Harvard,  the  oldest  and  largest  of  the  colleges, 
through  its  remarkable  growth  into  a  great  university  un- 
der the  administration  of  President  Eliot.  The  author 
pays  enthusiastic  tribute  to  this  greatest  leader  of  Amer- 
ican intellectual  life.  The  opposed  tendencies  within  the 
typical  faculty  are  mentioned,  of  those,  particularly  among 
the  older  men,  who  lay  chief  emphasis  on  teaching  as  such 
and  on  the  cultivating  function  of  liberal  education  and  of 
the  others  who  lay  stress  on  productive  scholarship  and 
its  accompanying  factor  of  high  specialization.  The  Law 
and  the  Medical  Schools  are  described.  The  author  dwells 
also  on  that  social  life  that  is  so  potent  a  force  that  the 
loyalty  it  engenders  lasts  not  only  a  lifetime,  but  through 
many  generations.  Short  characterizations  are  given  of 
Yale,  Columbia,  Johns  Hopkins,  Cornell,  Leland  Stanford, 
and  the  University  of  Chicago,  of  the  state  universities, 
and  of  those  smaller  idyllic  colleges  like  Williams,  Brown, 
Amherst,  and  Dartmouth,  which  have  a  peculiar  mission 
of  their  own. 

In  the  chapter  on  ** Science,"  in  which  the  writer  sur- 
veys the  scholarly  achievements  of  the  country,  he  men- 
tions first  the  handicaps  to  free  productivity.  Among  these 
are  the  fact  that  instructors  in  the  Graduate  School  are 
not  promoted  on  the  strength  of  their  standing  as  investiga- 
tors only  and  the  obvious  overburdening  of  the  professors 
with  lectures  and  administrative  work  that  leave  them 
small  leisure  for  creation.  The  system  of  allowing  volun- 
tary docents  at  the  universities,  which  in  Europe  gives 
such  admirable  free  play  to  the  exercise  of  original  talent 
regardless  of  vacancies  and  appointments,  is  only  just 

349 


I 


:  i 


APPENDIX 

beginning  in  America.  Furthermore,  the  high  cost  of 
printing  prevents  much  possible  publication  of  special- 
ized investigation.  Yet,  in  spite  of  these  handicaps,  the 
author  is  optimistic.  He  enumerates  also  such  advan- 
tages as  the  free  aid  in  the  form  of  fellowships,  traveling 
scholarships,  and  the  like,  and  the  institution  of  the  **  sab- 
batical year''  for  professors.  The  habit  of  work  acquired 
in  the  more  supervised  life  than  that  of  the  Continental 
European  universities  is  a  decided  advantage. 

And  most  of  all,  the  intellectual  make-up  of  the  American  is 
especially  adapted  to  scientific  achievements.  This  tempera- 
ment, owing  to  the  historical  development  of  the  nation,  has 
80  far  addressed  itself  to  political,  industrial,  and  judicial 
problems,  but  a  return  to  theoretical  science  has  set  in;  and 
there  most  of  all,  the  happy  combination  of  inventiveness,  en- 
thusiasm, and  persistence  in  pursuit  of  a  goal,  of  intellectual 
freedom  and  elasticity,  of  feeling  for  form  and  of  idealistic 
instinct  for  self-perfection  will  yield,  perhaps  soon,  remarkable 
triumphs. 

The  author  gives  a  survey  of  the  excellent  government 
institutions  at  Washington,  of  the  Bureaus  where  research 
is  carried  on  in  the  service  of  the  country.  He  gives  an 
account  of  the  unique  history  and  position  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institute,  and  speculates  as  to  the  possibility  of  a 
great  university  above  other  universities.  The  author 
then  mentions  the  approach  to  such  an  establishment  in 
the  form  of  the  Carnegie  Institution,  and  speaks  further 
of  the  numerous  scientific,  historical,  and  educational 
societies  and  associations,  the  scholarly  publicationsr— 
university  journals  and  the  Uke— all  of  which  help  to 
stimulate  scholarly  production.  Miinsterberg  then  sur- 
veys the  achievements  in  each  separate  field  of  knowledge 
—philosophy,  history,  economics,  mathematics,  physics, 
chemistry,  etc.,— and  names  the  leading  scholars  who  have 
contributed  toward  these  achievements.    It  is  on  the  per- 

350 


APPENDIX 

sonal  factor  that  the  future  of  American  scholarship  de- 
pends, and  to  Miinsterberg  the  value  of  great  endow- 
ments lies  chiefly  in  their  power  to  attract  better  human 
material;  and  he  hails  with  high  hopes  the  growing  tend- 
ency of  the  most  promising  young  men  to  devote  them- 
selves to  scholarship.  **This  social  reappraisement  of  sci- 
ence and  its  effect  on  the  quality  of  men  who  become  pro- 
ductive scholars,  are  the  best  indication  of  the  coming 
greatness  of  American  science." 

In  the  chapter  on  "Literature,"  Miinsterberg  refutes 
the  absurd  European  idea  of  American  booklessness  and 
even  maintains  that  nowhere  else  are  so  many  books  read 
as  in  the  United  States.  With  enthusiasm  he  tells  about 
the  excellent  public  libraries,  especially  those  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  of  the  pioneer  work  that  the  libraries  ac- 
complished as  centers  for  public  education.  Another 
proof  of  the  American  reading  capacity  is  the  immense 
number  of  periodicals  published,  more  than  in  all  Europe. 
Native  American  literature  is  characterized,  again  in  refu- 
tation of  European  prejudices.  '*An  enthusiastic  Ameri- 
can has  said  that  to  be  an  American  means  to  be  both 
fresh  and  mature,  and  this  is  in  fact  a  combination  which 
is  new,  and  which  well  characterizes  the  literary  tempera- 
ment of  the  country."  A  certain  youthful  enthusiasm,  a 
desire  to  reform  and  improve  is  combined  with  a  mature 
sense  for  perfection  of  form.  **And  so  we  find  in  the 
American  temperament  a  finished  feeling  for  form,  but  a 
more  ethical  than  artistic  content — ,"  also  an  absence  of 
the  half-tones  that  appeal  to  more  melancholy  and  medita- 
tive temperaments,  although,  to  be  sure,  such  exceptions 
as  Poe,  Hawthorne,  Whitman,  and  Henry  James  defy  a 
too  fixed  generalization.  The  essay,  both  * 'fresh  and 
mature"  is  pointed  out  for  its  great  popularity  and  the 
remarkable  perfection  it  has  achieved  in  America. 
Further  the  writer  mentions  the  forceful,  personal  style 

351 


if 

1 

1 


1' 


APPENDIX 

prevalent  in  the  distinguished  historical  and  even  scien- 
tific works,  as  in  William  James'  Principles  of  Psychology, 
and  he  emphasizes  the  great  role  that  oratory,  that  **  off- 
shoot of  actual  literature,''  has  played  in  the  life  of  the 
nation.  Miinsterberg  surveys  the  development  of  Ameri- 
can literature,  he  points  out  the  short  story  as  the  form 
peculiarly  adapted  to  American  talent,  and  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  generous  output  of  poetry,  including  verse  of 
true  excellence. 

In  the  chapter  on  '*Art,"  the  author  accounts  for  the 
great  artistic  dearth  in  the  life  of  the  theater.  The  Puri- 
tan spirit  that  so  long  swayed  the  intellecual  life  of  the 
country  still  prevents  public-spirited  benefactors  from 
endowing  theaters.  Hence  the  dependence  of  the  theater 
on  patronage,  its  necessary  appeal  to  the  majority  of 
theater  goers  with  low  artistic  standards,  the  formation 
of  the  theater  trust,  the  management  of  the  theater  as  a 
business  enterprise,  the  **star"  system,  and  the  repeti- 
tion of  the  same  play  night  after  night.  In  music,  on  the 
other  hand,  endowment  has  helped  to  establish  excellent 
symphony  concerts  and  opera  performances  and  to  de- 
velop the  taste  of  the  public.  The  American  love  of  music 
is  proved,  moreover,  by  the  large  number  of  oratorio  sing- 
ing societies  and  the  high  quality  of  church  music.  Of 
distinguished  native  creation  in  music  there  is  little  to 
show  at  the  time  of  writing. 

In  painting,  on  the  other  hand,  America  has  cultivated 
her  own,  not  only  in  the  form  of  framed  pictures,  but 
also  in  wall  paintings  and  ornamentations  of  public  build- 
ings that  are  encouraged  as  democratic  because  visible  to 
all.  The  fame  of  Sargent  and  Whistler  is  established, 
but,  according  to  the  author,  '4t  becomes  plainer  every 
day  that  landscape  painting  is  the  most  typical  American 
means  of  expression."  Moreover,  the  paintings  of  Sar- 
gent and  Whistler  are  not  characteristically  American. 

352 


APPENDIX 

**In  painting,  as  in  so  many  other  branches,  the  United 
States  has  developed  from  the  provincial  to  the  cosmopol- 
itan and  from  the  cosmopolitan  to  the  national,  and  is  just 
now  taking  the  last  step." 

From  an  account  of  the  development  of  painting,  the 
author  turns  to  sculpture  which  awoke  much  later,  but 
has  nevertheless  produced  such  a  monument  as  the 
Shaw  Memorial  in  Boston  by  St.  Gaudens.  But  architec- 
ture, 

although  it  more  slavishly  followed  the  mother  country  than  any 
other  art,  was  the  earliest  to  strike  out  in  some  respects  on  an 
independent  course.  It  borrowed  its  forms,  but  originated  their 
applications  .  .  .  More  than  any  other  feature  of  her  civiliza- 
tion, American  architecture  reveals  the  entire  history  of  the 
people  from  the  days  when  the  Puritans  lived  in  little  wooden 
villages  to  the  present  era  of  the  skyscraper  of  the  large  cities. 

The  various  styles  of  architecture  are  traced  and  their 
development  is  explained.  Mention  is  made  of  the  care- 
ful art  training  in  schools,  as  by  the  Prang  system,  and 
finally  of  the  excellent  accomplishment  in  arts  and  crafts, 
and  in  landscape  gardening. 

In  the  chapter  on  ** Religion"  the  author  cannot  em- 
phasize too  much  the  profound  religiousness  of  the  true 
American,  a  trait  that  necessarily  accompanies  strong  in- 
dividualism. The  strict  separ'ation  of  church  and  state, 
which  first  strikes  a  European,  is  by  no  means  a  contra- 
diction of  the  religious  spirit.  This  separation  was  made 
to  avoid  friction  and  to  leave  the  life  of  the  church  all 
the  more  unhampered;  ther  ** state  and  church  move  in 
separate  dimensions  of  space,  as  it  were,  and  are  there- 
fore never  brought  into  conflict." 

Although  no  political  obligation  whatever  is  attached 
to  the  individual 's  relation  to  the  church,  the  social  obliga- 
tion is  remarkably  great. 

353 


APPENDIX 

One  may  see  even  from  the  grouping  of  sects,  how  much  the 
church  is  supported  by  society.  If  anywhere  democracy  seems 
natural,  it  should  be  in  the  eyes  of  God;  and  yet,  if  the  Americans 
show  anywhere  social  demarcations,  it  is  in  the  pravmce  of 
religion.  This  is  true,  not  only  of  different  churches  where  the 
expense  of  membership  is  so  unequal  that  in  large  cities  rich 
and  poor  are  farther  apart  on  Sundays  than  on  week  days;  but 
it  is  true  of  the  sects  themselves. 

The  author  remarks  on  the  unique  variety  of  religious 
sects  that  **make  the  distinction  between  related  faiths 
extremely  small,  sometimes  even  unintelligible  to  all  ex- 
cept the  theological  epicure ;  and,  indeed,  they  often  rest 
on  purely  local  or  ancestral  distinctions. ''    The  history 
of  the  various  leading  Protestant  sects  is  traced  and  their 
characteristics  are  pointed  out,  as  well  as  the  history  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  of  the  Jewish  faith  in 
America.    It  appears  not  only  from  the  history  of  the 
church  sects  themselves,   but  from  the  history   of   the 
country  that  religion,  which  inspired  the  Pilgrim  fathers 
to  seek  strange,  inhospitable  shores  and  brave  all  hard- 
ships, has  pervaded  the  life  of  the  nation  long  after  the 
original  zeal  and  severity  of  Puritanism  must  have  passed 
away.    The  great  influence  of  eminent  preachers — an  in- 
fluence quite  separate  from  any  political   current— has 
marked  the  spiritual  history  of  the  country,  like  the  never 
forgotten  influence  of   Phillips  Brooks.    In  contrast  to 
European  churches,  moreover,  where  the  sermon  is  more 
limited  to  theological  sphere^  the  sermon  in  America  has 
direct  bearing  on  the  worldly  life  of  the  congregation,  a 
function  that  even  colors  the  often  decidedly  mundane 
vocabulary  of  the  preacher.    Again,  in  striking  contrast 
to  European  customs,  the  church  in  America  has  a  frankly 
secular  mission  that  finds  expression  in  the  institution  of 
the  parish  house   and  in  the  many   philanthropic   and 

354 


APPENDIX 

purely  social   organizations  and   gatherings   round   the 
church  as  a  social  center. 

The  author  points  out  the  large  number  of  theological 
seminaries,  also  the  many  sectarian  colleges  and  the  in- 
fluence of  religion  on  the  great  universities.  Finally,  he 
speaks  of  the  sects  of  the  Adventists,  the  Mormons,  the 
Shakers,  the  Spiritualists,  and  the  Christian  Scientists. 
He  closes  with  a  consideration  of  the  good  effects  of  the 
religious  life  on  the  country,  the  high  moral  tone,  the 
prevalent  desire  for  purity  and  temperance,  the  ready 
charity  and  the  willingness  to  sacrifice. 

The  keynote  to  the  last  part  of  the  book,  on  **  Social 
Life''  is  the  spirit  of  self-assertion.  The  idea  of  equality 
in  American  life  is  quite  distinct  from  the  religious  idea  of 
equality  before  God  which  brings  with  it  a  certain  humility 
in  the  life  of  the  world.  The  American  belief  is  in  the  equal- 
ity of  man  before  man  which  brings  with  it  the  spirit  of 
self-confidence  and  of  self-assertion.  This  makes  the  act- 
ual and  thoroughly  recognized  social  distinctions  no  more 
essential  than  the  different  roles  in  a  play  that  the  actors 
play  seriously,  but  without  believing  in  their  real  exist- 
ence. The  belief  in  comradeship  is  a  purely  social  and  not 
strictly  a  moral  one,  for  the  comradeship  is  limited  to  a 
special  community — in  this  case,  to  be  sure,  the  whole 
nation.  For  this  reason  the  lack  of  envy  is  so  conspicuous, 
and  because  of  the  lack  of  envy,  American  life  makes  but 
poor  ground  for  Socialism.  Hence  also  the  respectability 
of  almost  any  kind  of  labor.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
aversion  to  servant's  work  is  striking,  and  the  unwilling- 
ness of  native  Americans  to  enter  domestic  service,  be- 
cause such  work  involves  dependence  on  individuals. 

All  in  all,  a  man's  position  is  less  associated  with  his 
work  than  in  Europe,  the  main  emphasis  is  laid  on  his 
personality,  independent  of  the  accident  of  occupation; 
hence  the  extraordinary  readiness  to  change  professions. 

355 


APPENDIX 

A  great  equalizing  factor,  moreover,  that  binds  together 
men  of  aU  classes  and  degrees  of  education  is  the  universal 
interest  in  sport.  There  is  one  even  more  powerful  equal- 
izing force— American  humor.  **No  immoderation,  no 
improper  presumption  and  no  pomposity  can  survive  the 
first  humorous  comment,  and  the  American  does  not  wait 
long  for  this.  The  soap  bubble  is  pricked  amid  general 
laughter,  and  equality  is  restored/' 

The  duty  imposed  by  the  feeling  of  equality  is  the  duty 
of  being  a  gentleman.  American  hospitality,  even  toward 
strangers,  is  unique,  and  the  spirit  of  helpfulness  is  prev- 
alent. This  spirit  is  not  a  condescending  one,  however, 
but  one  that  sees  in  poverty  an  enemy  that  threatens  to 
debase  the  free  personality.  Over  against  the  many  vir- 
tues of  this  spirit  of  equality,  the  author  sets  a  few  of 
its  dangers.  One  of  these  is  chiefly  a  danger  to  aesthetic 
development,  but  may  also  become  one  to  the  intellectual 
life,  that  is,  the  too  great  uniformity  of  style,  manner, 
and  habits  of  thought  that  tends  to  breed  mediocrity. 
Another  danger  lies  in  the  indulgent  good  nature,  in  the 
smile  that  will  not  wear  off  even  in  the  face  of  faults 

and  neglects. 

This  consideration  of  self-assertion  in  general  leads  the 
author  to  a  chapter  on  the  -  Self -Assertion  of  Women''  in 
particular.  He  speaks  of  the  peculiarly  happy  lot  of  the 
American  woman,  of  the  many  roads  to  self-perfection 
and  self-assertion  that  lie  open  to  her.  He  gives  an  ac- 
count of  the  school  life,  of  coeducation,  of  the  college  life, 
especially  of  the  idyllic  charm  of  the  woman's  colleges, 
and  of  the  occupations  followed  by  women.  He  empha- 
sizes the  influence  and  scope  of  activities  by  women  who 
are  not  working  professionally,  in  cultural,  philanthropic, 
and  social  affairs,  of  their  leadership  in  social  life  and  of 
the  cultural  superiority  of  the  wife  over  the  husband  in 
the   average   American   home.     The   suffrage   question   is 

356 


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APPENDIX 

touched  upon,  and  observations  are  made  on  the  attitude 
of  the  American  woman  toward  marriage.  Finally  he 
speaks  of  the  growing  usurpation  by  women  of  the  teach- 
ing profession ;  of  the  alarmingly  one-sided  feminine  stamp 
impressed  on  the  culture  of  the  country  due  to  the  early 
preoccupation  of  men  with  political  and  industrial  work; 
of  the  desirability  of  a  masculine  reaction  to  counter- 
balance this  stamp;  and  he  ends  with  the  remark  that 
**  woman  will  never  contribute  momentously  to  the  culture 
of  the  world  by  remaining  intellectually  celibate." 

The  last  chapter  of  the  book  is  given  to  the  observa- 
tion of  **  Aristocratic  Tendencies"  that  are  bound  to  arise 
in  the  most  confirmed  democracy.  There  is,  to  be  sure, 
no  desire  to  imitate  the  European  aristocracy;  there  is  an 
aristocracy  of  American  make.  Neither  do  the  Four  Hun- 
dred of  New  York  and  Newport  who,  in  spite  of  the  dis- 
tortions of  the  sensational  press,  well  deserve  to  lead 
*'in  that  world  where  one  is  to  be  amused  expensively  at 
any  cost,"  constitute  the  real  American  aristocracy. 

But  the  author  discerns  the  rising  of  an  aristocracy 
of  education  and  talent.  *'The  influence  of  wealth  is  not 
absent  here,  but  it  is  not  mere  wealth  as  such  which 
exalts  these  people  to  the  nobility;  nor  is  the  historical 
principle  of  family  inheritance  left  out  of  account,  al- 
though it  is  not  merely  the  number  of  one's  identifiable 
ancestors  that  counts.  It  is,  most  of  all,  the  profounder 
marks  of  education  and  of  personal  talent."  In  Roose- 
velt, at  the  time  of  writing  President  of  the  United  States, 
Miinsterberg  sees  the  embodiment  of  this  aristocracy. 

The  leaven  of  aristocratic  forces  is  at  work  everywhere, 
not  to  destroy  democracy,  but  to  modify  it.  **The  desire 
for  the  beauty  and  dignity  of  culture,  for  authority  and 
thoroughness,  is  creeping  into  every  comer  of  Ameri- 
can life."  Parallel  with  these  modifications  of  social  life 
is  a  growing  conception  of  the  country  as  an  abstract  en- 

357 


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APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


tity  over  and  above  the  individual.  **This  tendency  is 
still  in  its  beginning,  and  will  never  be  so  strong  as  in 
Europe,  because  the  self-assertion  of  the  individual  is  too 
lively.  Nevertheless,  these  new  notes  in  the  harmony  are 
much  louder  and  more  persistent  than  they  were  ten  years 


>> 


ago 

The  Americans  found  warm  response  and  a  wide  range 
of  readers.    President  Eliot  commented  upon  it  thus: 

Harvard  University 
Cambbidge,  December  H,  1904. 

Dear  Mr.  Munsterberg  : 

I  find  The  Americans  in  its  English  dress  very  interesting 
and  informing.  To  my  thinking,  it  does  not  injure  it  at  all 
for  Americans  that  in  its  original  dress  it  was  intended  for 
Germans.  De  Tocqueville's  Democracy  in  America  was  not  in- 
tended for  Americans;  and  I  have  lately  heard  Mr.  James  Bryce 
say  that  his  American  Commonwealth  was  intended  for  his  own 
countrymen,  and  that  he  was  surprised  at  its  sale  in  America. 

I  am,  with  many  thanks, 

Very  truly  yours, 

Charles  W.  Eliot 

From  the  survey  of  this  comprehensive  study  The  Ameri- 
cans, it  will  appear  what  thorough  labors  were  involved 
in  the  creation  of  a  book  that,  after  all,  was  a  **  vacation 
work''  running  alongside  of  Miinsterberg's  strictly  scien- 
tific production.  Of  his  profound  epistemological  work, 
Grundziige  der  Psychologic  extensive  account  has  been 
given;  in  the  season  of  1904-1905  he  began  the  English 
translation  of  this  book  which,  however,  he  later  aban- 
doned. Into  this  period  falls  the  treatise  on  the  theory  of 
sound  perception  which  was  first  read  before  the  Associa- 
tion of  Psychologists  at  Philadelphia  and  then  published 
in  the  Psychological  Review. 

A  characteristic  little  book  appeared  in  1905,  the  volume 
published  by  the  Prang  Educational  Co.,  The  Principles 

358 


of   Art    Education.    In   this   treatise    Miinsterberg    has 
spoken  as  philosopher,  as  psychologist,  and  as  educator; 
this  triple  role  he  was  destined  to  play  again  four  years 
later  when  he  brought  out  Psychology  and  the  Teacher. 
The   book  is  divided   into   three   parts— philosophical, 
ffisthetical,  psychological--and  a  conclusion.    In  the  first 
part  the  philosopher  examines  the  values  that  the  usual 
school  boards,  superintendents,  and  teachers  attribute  to 
art  instruction  in  the  schools.    These  values  are  the  ac- 
quirement of  accuracy  in  drawing  for  the  purpose  of  skill- 
ful representation,  and  the  training  in  the  careful  ob- 
servation of  nature.    But  the  author  points  out  that  in 
order  to  win  these  values,  lessons  in  scientific  drawing  such 
as  might  be  given  in  the  science  courses  would  be  quite 
enough;  art  instruction  would  be  superfluous.    But  the 
real  purpose  of  art  differs  altogether  from  the  purpose  of 
science.    Science  describes  and  explains;  description  and 
explanation  are  the  search  for  the  connection  of  things, 
they  do  not  tell  us  what  the  things  themselves  are  in  their 
immediate  reality.    *'Thus,  if  you  really  want  the  thing 
itself,  there  is  only  one  way  to  get  it :  you  must  separate  it 
from  everything  else,  you  must  disconnect  it  from  causes 
and  effects,  you  must  bring  it  before  the  mind  so  that 
nothing  else  but  this  one  presentation  fiJls  the  mind  .  .  .'* 
Such  repose  in  a  completely  isolated  object  is  the  enjoy- 
ment of  beauty.    True  beauty,  like  true  knowledge,  is  in- 
dependent of  individual  desire  and  has  its  ** ought*'  as 
insistent  as  the  ** ought''  of  morality  and  of  truth.    The 
youth  of  the  country  need  to  know  the  demands  of  beauty, 
and,  above  all,  they  must  learn  to  seek  rest  in  the  con- 
templation of  isolated  objects  of  our  world— in  the  en- 
joyment of  beauty.    Philosophy  points  out  the  purpose 
of  art ;  ©sthetics  shows  the  means  by  which  the  complete 
isolation  of  things  is  brought  about. 
In  the  second,  the  **8Bsthetical"  part  of  the  book,  we 

359 


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APPENDIX 


fina  tne  seed  of  Miinsterberg 's  theory  of  aesthetics,  which 
was  later  perfected  in  The  Eternal  Values,  The  author 
asserts  that  the  demands  of  aesthetics  are  not  satisfied 
either  with  a  realism  that  copies  slavishly  from  nature, 
nor  with  an  idealism  that  insists  on  beautiful  models.  An 
ugly  model  may  be  used  for  a  beautiful  picture,  provided 
that  the  representation  isolates  it  from  the  rest  of  the 
world.  The  two-dimensional  plane  of  painting  and  the 
uniform  color  in  sculpture  serve  to  emphasize  the 
isolation.  In  a  picture  the  harmonious  filling  of  space 
by  lines,  lights,  and  colors,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  con- 
tent of  the  representation,  on  the  other,  must  form  a  com- 
plete unity.  This  unity  must  be  a  unity  of  meaning :  the 
object  represented  and  the  lines  and  colors  that  represent 
it  must  all  be  understood  as  one  expression.  The  child 
must  be  taught  to  discriminate  between  the  reproduction 
of  nature  and  the  representation  of  meaning.  The  author 
advises,  therefore,  that  the  child  be  given  some  exact,  un- 
interesting copies  of  nature  to  transform  into  artistic,  ex- 
pressive pictures.  Further,  in  order  to  understand  the 
movements  end  tensions  of  lines,  the  child  should  divide 
spaces  into  parts  or  fill  it  with  lines;  the  characteristic 
differences,  moods  and  meanings  of  colors  he  should  learn 
by  mixing  the  colors  himself.  The  understanding  of  the 
harmony  of  form  and  content,  however,  can  be  acquired 
best  by  the  interpretation  of  works  of  art  in  school  and 
familiarity  with  good  reproductions  of  masterpieces. 

In  the  third,  or  * '  psychological ' '  part  which  considers  no 
longer  the  object  of  art,  but  the  subjective  perception  of 
it,  the  author  emphasizes  that  laboratory  methods  are 
necessary  for  the  study  of  the  mental  states.  He  gives  a 
brief  psychological  explanation  of  the  processes  involved 
in  the  perception  of  space  divisions  and  of  colors;  he 
shows  how  light  sensation  is  coupled  with  movement  sen- 
sation^ and  that  the  optical  sensations  and  the  eye  muscle 

360 


APPENDIX 


sensations  must  agree  with  the  natural  sensations  of  the 
organism  in  order  to  satisfy;  in  the  same  way  colors, 
whose  quality  affects  the  breathing,  blood  circulation,  mus- 
cular strain,  etc.,  must  balance  to  correspond  with  the 
tonus  of  the  organism.  The  content  of  the  picture  must 
be  impressed  through  associations.  Yet,  though  the  sen- 
sations by  which  lines,  colors  and  content  are  perceived, 
all  lead  to  motor  impulses,  these  impulses  must  end  in 
themselves  and  not  lead  to  action,  as  in  practical  life. 
Therefore  the  inhibition  of  disturbing  associations  is  the 
central  phenomenon  of  the  aesthetic  process. 

In  the  ** Conclusion,''  the  psychologist  turns  into  the 
educator,  and  as  such  warns  against  the  emphasis  on  psy- 
chology as  a  help  in  the  teaching  of  art.  The  teacher  can 
hardly  have  complete  psychological  knowledge;  and  even 
if  he  were  so  equipped,  he  could  not  affect  the  brain  cells 
of  the  child.  **.  .  .  we  cannot  indulge  in  microgym- 
nastics.'*  But,  above  all,  there  is  danger  in  a  scientific 
attitude  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  for  such  an  attitude 
is  opposed  to  the  true  spirit  of  aesthetics.  This  must  be 
imparted  to  the  pupils  by  the  teacher.  The  aesthetic  train- 
ing through  exercises  as  indicated  above  and  through  see- 
ing good  reproductions  of  paintings  must  be  supplemented, 
of  course,  by  technical  training  of  eye  and  hand,  which  can 
be  acquired  best  by  faithful  copying  from  nature.  But 
most  important  of  all  is  the  influence  of  the  teacher,  who 
should  inspire  a  sense  of  beauty  and  inhibit  ugliness  and 
vulgarity  from  every  mind.  The  aim  of  art  instruction 
in  the  school  is  not  only  the  possible  ultimate  achievement 
of  great  national  art ;  its  chief  purpose  is 

to  open  the  eyes  and  minds  of  .  .  .  millions  to  the  sunshine  of 
beauty,  to  carry  happiness  and  idealism  into  the  hearts  of  those 
young  people,  into  the  homes  of  the  whole  American  nation. 
Their  entire  school  knowledge  and  surroundings  train  them  for 
practical   needs,   for  skill   and  achievement;   that  must  be  so, 

361 


APPENDIX 

and  it  is  well.  Let  them  fight  and  run  and  pull  and  push,  but 
let  them  never  forget  that  the  fight  is  not  merely  for  the  fight- 
ing; we  must  aim  for  an  end  in  which  we  can  find  satisfaction, 
repose,  and  happiness. 

A  first  sketch  of  Miinsterberg's  System  of  Values  was 
the  herald  of  his  systematic  contribution  to  philosophy. 
The  Eternal  Values,  which  will  be  considered  closely  in 
another  chapter. 

From  the  same  fountain  as  The  Eternal  Values,  a 
streamlet  flowed  in  advance.  A  little  book— a  holiday 
book  it  may  be  called— appeared  in  1905  at  Easter  time 
and  has  enjoyed  a  remarkable  popularity  ever  since.  It 
was  called  The  Eternal  Life.    Its  opening  page  reads: 

"Come,  dear  friend,  sit  down  here  by  the  open  fire.  It  was 
cold  and  penetrating  out  there  at  the  burial ;— come,  warm  your 
hands,  and  let  us  talk  of  the  companion  we  have  lost.  How 
often  he  sat  with  me  here  through  the  winter  evenings,  and 
brightened  my  dusky  library  with  his  genial  humor  and  good 
cheer !    We  shall  not  hear  his  voice  again.  .  .  ." 

And  then  follows  an  elucidation,  not  technical,  and  yet 
profound,  of  that  belief  in  eternal  life  which  is  a  con- 
viction, not  of  the  endless  extension  beyond  death  of  the 
individual  life  in  time  and  space,  but  of  the  eternity  of 
each  life  of  will  and  purpose,  outside  of  and  independent 
of  the  realm  of  space  and  time,  and  unaffected,  therefore, 
by  the  accidental  sting  of  death. 

CHAPTER  IX 

Miinsterberg's  literary  labors  from  the  autumn  of  1905 
to  the  autumn  1908  were  manifold  and  most  significant. 
First  of  all,  this  was  a  period  of  intense  philosophic  pro- 
duction. How  Miinsterberg  devoted  a  summer  of  concen- 
trated work  to  the  creation  of  his  chief  philosophical  book 
has  already  been  told.  This  book,  completed  in  November, 
1907,  appeared  in  1908  under  the  title  PhUosophie  der 

362 


APPENDIX 


Werte,  Soon  it  was  to  be  rewritten  in  English  for  con- 
sumption by  the  serious  English  reading  public,  out- 
side of  the  immediate  circle  of  scholars  who  could  ap- 
proach it  in  German;  therefore  it  is  better  not  to  an- 
ticipate at  this  point  a  closer  examination  of  the  views 
set  forth  in  The  Eternal  Values. 

A  creative  mind  cannot  be  absorbed  by  fundamental 
ideas  without  in  turn  reflecting  them  on  the  various 
problems  that  it  has  to  solve.  Thus  the  slender  volume 
Eternal  Life,  which  appeared  in  April,  1906,  was  a  fore- 
runner of  The  Eternal  Values,  and  so  was  the  little  book, 
brought  out  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.  a  year  later,  called 
Science  and  Idealism.  Hardly  a  problem  could  be  called 
more  characteristic  of  the  age  in  which  Miinsterberg  was 
living  and  thinking  than  the  earnest  desire  to  under- 
stand the  relation  between  science  and  religion  or,  in  a 
more  esoteric  sphere,  between  science  and  philosophical 
idealism.  As  in  his  more  comprehensive  philosophical 
works,  so  here,  Miinsterberg  emphasized  that  life  is  a 
system  of  subjects  in  will-relations;  that  the  reality  of 
the  whole  does  not  depend  on  the  individual  conception, 
but  on  that  which  is  common  to  all  and  is  therefore  an 
independent,  self-willed  reality.  **To  have  a  world  means 
to  hold  up  the  flying  experience  as  something  which  is  to 
be  not  experience  only,  but  is  to  be  itself.''  And  again: 
**To  make  a  world  out  of  our  experience  means,  and  cannot 
mean  anything  else  than  to  apperceive  every  bit  of  tho 
chaos  as  something  which  must  will  itself."  The  philos- 
opher further  traces  those  four  systems  that  endow  phe- 
nomena with  identity  and  connection:  the  world  of  outer 
things,  or  nature;  the  system  of  historical  and  human  re- 
lations; the  system  of  logical  relations  as  exemplified  by 
the  normative  sciences;  the  aesthetical  world  with  its  isola- 
tion of  the  single  experience.  All  are  ultimately  har- 
monized by  religion  which  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  de- 

363 


APPENDIX 

mand  for  unification  of  the  whole  through  convictions. 
But  as  religion  builds  a  harmonizing  and  fulfilling  super- 
structure upon  life,  so  philosophy  builds  a  substructure 
by  which  the  apparently  conflicting  demands  of  the  dif- 
ferent systems  of  values  are  grasped  in  their  totality. 
**But  the  metaphysical  conceptions  of  philosophy  and  re- 
ligion are  thus  by  different  means  aiming  towards  the 
same  goal.''  Finally,  it  is  the  very  condition  of  science 
that  the  absoluteness  of  truth  should  be  unquestioned. 
'*We  must  decide  for  ourselves  what  ideals  we  wish  to 
uphold,  whether  we  want  the  world  to  be  a  world  for  us 
or  merely  a  dream  and  a  chaos;  but  this  at  least  we  must 
understand,  that  science  falls  asunder  if  we  disbelieve  in 

absolute  ideals." 

That  those  philosophers  whom  the  author  of  Science  and 
Idealism  called  the  New  Sophists— the  Empiriocritics  and 
Pragmatists  who,  like  the  Sophists  of  old,  stopped  half- 
way—that those  opponents  of  idealistic  philosophy  should 
be  roused  to  criticism  is  natural. 

In  response  to  a  request  from  the  editors  of  the  En- 
cyclopedia Americana,  Miinsterberg  wrote  for  them  philo- 
sophical surveys  of  ^* Normative  Science,''  *' Philosophy  of 
History,"  and  ''The  Classification  of  Science";  also  con- 
tributions on  German  universities  and  on  the  history  of 
German  Science  and  philosophy.  The  second  volume  of 
the  Harvard  Psychological  Studdes,  which  Miinsterberg 
edited,  appeared  in  1906.  During  this  period  of  pro- 
duction, Miinsterberg  contributed  to  various  magazines 
of  large  circulation,  as  the  best  means  of  spreading  ideas 
among  the  reading  public  at  large. 

Before  going  on  to  speak  of  the  popular  magazine  art- 
icles, mention  must  be  made  of  a  contribution  to  the 
Journal  of  Abnormal  Psijchology  as  part  of  a  ''Symposium 
on  the  Subconscious"  arranged  by  the  editor,  Dr.  Morton 
Prince— a  symposium  in  which  Professor  Theodore  Ribot 

364 


APPENDIX 

of  the  College  de  France  and  Professor  Joseph  Jastrow 
of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  also  took  part.  Miinster- 
berg in  his  review  defines  and  interprets  three  types  of 
the  subconscious  which  he  recognizes  as  merely  a  logical 
construction  for  the  purposes  of  explanation.  These  three 
types  are  conditioned  firstly  by  the  layman's  approach  to 
the  observation  of  mental  phenomena,  secondly  by  the 
physician's  approach,  and  thirdly  by  the  approach  of  the 
theoretical  psychologist.  The  layman's  emphasis  is  on 
the  apparent  mysteriousness  of  mental  phenomena  not  in 
consciousness,  which  are  interpreted  as  a  second  personal- 
ity. The  physician  constructs  the  realm  of  the  uncon- 
scious so  as  to  bring  into  relief  the  way  in  which  certain 
psychical  phenomena  differ  from  normal  mental  life. 
The  theoretical  psychologist,  finally,  approaches  the 
phenomena  with  an  explanajtioai  that  covers  both  the 
abnormal  facts  and  the  normal  processes.  This  explana- 
tion recognizes  that  the  "subconscious  is  not  psychical 
at  all,"  but  physiological  brain  action — even  as  physiolog- 
ical brain  processes  are  the  measurable  basis  for  normal 
psychical  phenomena.  Thus,  as  a  new  perception  or  idea 
in  normal  mental  life  is  explained  by  the  physiological 
brain  activity,  so  also  the  recurrent  or  apparently  slumber- 
ing and  awakening  idea  may  be  explained  by  a  recurrent 
•  brain  activity.  The  existence  of  psychical  phenomena 
is  consciousness,  or  psychical  phenomena  are  in  conscious- 
ness as  physical  phenomena  are  in  nature.  What  is  ap- 
parently subconscious  is  merely  the  continuation  of  the 
brain  process  without  mental  accompaniment.  Such  a  con- 
struction for  the  purpose  of  causal  explanation  is  a 
philosophical  deed,  and  the  layman's  mystical  definition 
of  subconscious  mental  life,  far  from  having  any  scientific 
value,  is  also  inconsistent  with  philosophical  insight.  *  *  The 
physiological  psychologist  thus  ought  carefully  to  avoid  the 

365 


APPENDIX 

language  of  the  subliminal  self  theory  as  it  flows  over 
too  easily  into  antiphilosophy/' 

From  the  Journal  of  Abnormal  Psychology  to  the  Sunday 
maga2ane  page  is  an  abrupt  jump;  yet  it  is  one  of  the 
blessings  of  American  public  life  that  the  same  experts 
are  willing  to  supply  both  the  technical  journal  and  the 
popular  magazine.    In  November,   1907,  there  appeared 
in  a  Sunday  magazine  section  the  article  *' Communicat- 
ing with  the  Dead.''    It  is  well  known  how  fast  a  hold 
the  belief  in  spiritualistic  messages  from  the  dead  through 
mediums  had  taken  on  the  superstitiously  inclined  public, 
and  even  on  men  of  serious  thought.    Most  prominent  in 
his  field  was  Professor  Hyslop,  the  founder  of  the  American 
Society  for  Psychical  Research,  and  it  was  he  who,  at  the 
time  of  Miinsterberg's  writing,  had  been  receiving  mes- 
sages from  his  friend  Richard  Hodgson  of  Boston,  who 
had  also  been  a  devoted  supporter  of  spiritualistic  re- 
search.   That  Miinsterberg  was  thoroughly  opposed  to  this 
unscientific  science  is  well  known,  and  he  welcomed  the 
opportunity  to  expose  its  vulnerable  parts  in  a  publication 
that  reached  a  multitude  and  variety  of  readers.    Again 
we  come  upon  a  theory  of  the  subconscious  as  a  deeper 
personality   endowed   with   mystical   insight,   and   again 
Miinsterberg  explained  the  fallacy  of  such  a  supposition 
and  proved  that  the  automatic  writing  of  the  medium  is 
not  due  to  a  supernatural  power  but  merely  to  an  abnor- 
mal brain  process.    But  above  all  Miinsterberg  lays  stress 
on  the  disappointing  and  somewhat  revolting  fact  that 
the  supposedly  returned  spirits  have  only  the  most  trivial 
messages  to  convey  from  the  Beyond.    The  coincidence  of 
the  messages  received  through  different  mediums,  to  which 
Professor  Hyslop   attached  much  value,  was  easily  ex- 
plained by  the  obvious  fact  that  these  messages  were  so 
commonplace  and  so  consistent  with  the  prevalent  jargon 
of  the  spiritistic  circles  that  nothing  could  be  more  natural 

366 


APPENDIX 


than  such  coincidence.  Indeed,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Hodgson  had  asserted  through  two  different  mediums, 
one  in  Boston  and  one  in  St.  Louis,  that  he  was  **fine," 
Miinsterberg  proved  his  theory  further.  He  suggested  to 
a  patient  of  his,  while  in  a  deep  hypnotic  sleep,  that  he 
would  hear  the  voice  of  Mr.  Hodgson,  and  to  the  question 
**How  are  you.  Dr.  Hodgson?"  the  patient  replied:  **  Just 
fine.''  With  characteristic  irony  the  author  goes  on  to 
say:  **  .  .  .  the  *fine'  has  certainly  supernatural  origin, 
as  it  seems  evidently  more  reasonable  to  throw  overboard 
all  that  two  thousand  years  of  human  science  has  brought 
us  than  to  imagine  that  two  neurotic  women  and  a  co- 
cainist  react  with  the  same  obvious  word  on  a  trivial  ques- 
tion." 

In  the  Metropolitan  Magazine,  in  June,  1908,  appeared 
an  article  on  ** Hypnotism  and  Freedom."  In  this  article 
Miinsterberg  answers  the  scruples  of  those  who  believe 
that  hypnotism  is  immoral  and  objectionable  because  it 
deprives  the  hypnotized  subject  of  his  own  free  will, 
thereby  making  even  a  beneficial  change  in  his  life  in- 
valid because  it  has  been  achieved  without  **the  free 
control  and  exercise  of  those  powers  of  the  soul  upon  which 
his  individual  responsibility  and  moral  status  depend." 
The  author,  however,  denies  that  in  cases  of  hypnotic 
treatment  destructive  habits  are  overcome  by  the  patient 
without  moral,  even  heroic  efforts  on  his  part.  In  the  very 
case  of  a  young  man  whom  the  psychologist  himself  cured 
of  the  morphine  habit,  the  final  victory  over  his  passion 
cost  the  patient  constant  and  desperate  struggles  and  suf- 
fering from  the  diminished  doses,  and  yet  he  obeyed  the 
orders  of  the  hypnotist,  although  he  had  a  thousand 
tablets  of  morphine  in  his  desk.  The  hypnotic  state  is, 
after  all,  merely  a  state  of  artificially  increased  suggesti- 
bility which  makes  it  easier  for  the  patient  to  follow  sug- 
gestions.   Not  only  is  a  voluntary  subjection  to  the  in- 

367 


APPENDIX 

fluence  of  the  hypnotist  necessary  for  reaching  the  hypnotic 
state,  but  exertion  of  will  power  is  required  to  carry  out 
the  dictates  of  the  hypnotist,  even  though  he  is  helped 
by  the  increased  suggestibility  on  the  part  of  the  patient. 
''We  do  not  eliminate  the  free  will,  but  we  remove  some 
unfair   obstacles  from  its  path.    We  have  no   mystical 
power  by  which  our  will  simply  takes  hold  of  the  other 
man's  will,  but  we  inhibit  and  suppress  by  influence  on 
the   imagination   those   abnormal   impulses  which   resist 
the  sound  desires.''    And  indeed  the  aid  of  suggestion  is 
and  should  be  used  not  only  by  the  hypnotist  but  in 
education,  in  art,  and  all  spheres  of  high  minded  private 
and  pubUc  life,  by  inhibiting  evil  and  harmful  impulses 
and  reenforcing  or  giving  rise  to  good  ones.    ''That  is 
the  glory  of  life,  that  the  suggestive  power  may  belong  to 
moral  values  instead  of  mere  pleasures,  but  it  is  not  the 
aim  of  life  to  remain  untouched  by  suggestions.    And  he 
who  by  suggestion  helps  the  weak  mind  to  overcome  ob- 
stacles which  the  strong  mind  can   overthrow  from  its 
inborn  resources,  works  for  the  best  of  the  individual  and 
of  the  community,  in  the  spirit  of  eternal  morality. 

The  problem  of  psychology  as  applied  in  the  courtroom 
was  acquiring  more  and  more  prominence.  Not  only  was 
Miinsterberg  much  absorbed  in  laboratory  experiments  sug- 
gestive of  practical  application,  but  the  alert  public  was 
ripe  for  such  suggestions.  Accordingly  Miinsterberg  pub- 
lished in  various  magazines  articles  that  threw  light  on 
this  newest  applied  science.  ''Untrue  Confessions"  ap- 
peared in  the  Times  Magazine  in  January,  1907,  and  "On 
the  Witness  Stand"  in  March,  1907;  "Suggestions  in 
Court"  in  the  Readers'  Magazine  in  April,  1907;  "Noth- 
ing but  the  Truth"  in  McClure's  Magazine  in  September, 
1907;  "The  Third  Degree"  in  McClure's,  "Traces  of  Emo- 
tion and  the  Criminal"  in  the  Cosmopolitan  Magazine, 
"Hypnotism  and  Crime"  in  McClure's  Magazine  in  Janu- 

368 


APPENDIX 


ary,  1908,  and  "Prevention  of  Crime"  in  the  same  period- 
ical in  March,  1908.    All  of  these  articles  were  gathered  to- 
gether in  a  book  that  appeared  in  March,  1908,  under 
the  title  On  the   Witness  Stand,    This  book  won  great 
popularity  and  influenced  the  ideas  of  jurists  and  the 
general  public.    A  brief  consideration  is  due  to  this  volume 
which  left  so  strong  an  impress  on  the  thought  of  the  time. 
The  chapters  of  On  the  Witness  Stand  do  not  all  bear 
the  headings  of  the  original  magazine  articles.    In  the 
first  chapter  called  "Illusions"  the  psychologist   points 
out  that  even  the  best  trained  observers  are  swayed  by 
illusions  of  sight,  sound,  perception  of  distance,  etc.     How 
much  more  true  is  this  of  the  average  untrained  witness 
who,  with  the  best  intention,  tells  "the  whole  truth,  and 
nothing  but  the  truth"!    Miinsterberg  had  made  experi- 
ments with  the  students  of  his  large  lecture  class  at  Har- 
vard.   For  instance,  he  showed  them  a  cardboard  with  a 
number  of  black  squares  on  it  for  five  seconds  and  asked 
them  to  state  the  number  of  squares  that  they  had  seen ; 
or  he  made  two  loud  clicks  and  asked  them  to  state  the 
time  that  had  elapsed  between  these  sounds;  or  he  told 
them  to  judge  the  speed  of  a  pointer  that  moved  over  the 
dial  of  a  large  clock;  to  identify  the  sound  of  a  tuning- 
fork  that  was  invisible  to  them;  to  tell  what  object,  if 
held  at  arm's  length,  would  cover  the  moon  from  sight. 
A  most  startling  variety  of  results  for  each  experiment 
proved  that  even  well  trained  observers  were  decidedly 
subject  to  illusions.     That  the  more  suggestible  mind  is 
also  more  easily  prey  to  illusions  was  proved  by  experi- 
ments which  showed  that  the  students  who  had  pronounced 
a  given  shade  of  light  gray  darker  than  a  given  shade 
of  dark  blue,  merely  because  grayness  suggested  darkness, 
were  the  same  who,  during  a  performance  by  the  experi- 
menter in  which  he  made  various  small  movements  with 
his  left  hand  while  whirling  a  color  disk  in  his  right, 

369 


APPENDIX 

had  remained  perfectly  oblivious  of  all  the  lefthand  move- 
ments, while  their  attention,  obedient  to  suggestion, 
was  fixed  on  the  more  conspicuous  action.  The  suggesti- 
ble mind  is  prepared  to  see  what  it  expects,  and,  consider- 
ing besides  this  indisputable  fact,  the  manifoldness  of 
illusions— of  taste,  feeling  for  temperature,  feeling  of 
sharpness  or  dullness,  etc.— the  significance  of  the  problem 
which  the  testimony  of  a  chance  witness  in  court  presents 
may  well  be  understood. 

For  the  chapter  *'The  Memory  of  the  Witness*'  the 
author  did  not  have  to  go  far  out  of  his  way  for  experi- 
mental material.    He  himself,  when  on  the  witness  stand 
at  the  trial  of  a  thief  who  had  broken  into  his  house, 
made  numerous  mis-statements  under  oath,  such  as  the 
one  that  the  burglars  had  entered  by  the  window,  where- 
as he  found  out  later  that  they  had  broken  open  the  cellar 
door.    There  was  no  doubt  that  he  had  spoken  the  subjec- 
tive truth  to  the  best  of  his  ability;  nor  was  there  any 
doubt  about  the  quality  of  memory  of  one  who,  during  the 
last  eighteen  years,  had  given  3,000  university  lectures 
without  notes.     The  distinction  between  subjective  and  ob- 
jective truth  has  not  been  recognized  enough ;  hence  false 
statements  on  the  witness  stand  are  usually  attributed 
to  deceit  and  not  to  the  illusory  memory  that  in  many 
cases  has  caused  them.     Neither  are  the  errors  of  memory 
always  due  to  lack  of  attention,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
oath,  for  instance,  by  which  the  effort  to  remember  cor- 
rectly is  reenforced,  often  has  a  constraining  effect  that 
impedes    or   distorts   the    memory.     Criminologists   have 
made  experiments  with  scientific  audiences  by  means  of 
suddenly  enacting  dramatic,  uproarious  scenes  which  have 
been  previously  rehearsed.     The  startled  witnesses  are  then 
told  of  the  harmless  nature  of  the  performance  and  asked 
to  write  exact  accounts  of  what  has  happened.     These  ac- 
counts, though  written  truthfully,  abound  in  remarkable 

370 


APPENDIX 


digressions  from  the  actual  truth.    Moreover,  the  feeling 
of  sureness  that  one's  own  judgment  is  correct  does  not 
coincide  with  objective  correctness.     The  correlation  be- 
tween attention,  recollection,  and  the  feeling  of  certainty 
is  indeed  highly  complex.     The  mysterious  sense,  familiar 
to  many   people,   of   having  passed   through   an   experi- 
ence before,  is  a  warning  signal  that  the  **feeling  of 
certainty  in  recollection''  does  not  secure  objective  truth. 
The  fulfillments  of  dreams  and  prophesied  fortunes  may 
be  traced  in  many  cases  to  illusions  of  the  memory  which, 
obedient  to  suggestion,  fit  the  dream  or  the  fortune-telling 
to  the  event  that  is  supposed  to  be  a  fulfillment.     Under 
certain  conditions  memory  impressions  may  even  be  felt 
as  new  impressions.     There  are,  moveover,  different  types 
of  memory — the  visual,  the  acoustical  and  the  motor  type 
— ^and  there  are  types  of  memory  more  affected  by  the 
recency  than  by  the  frequency  of  events  and  vice  versa. 
It  is  evident  that  all  these  factors  are  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance in  judging  the  character  of  witnesses  and  the 
validity  of  their  statements.    The  author  maintains  that, 
although  **no  railroad  or  ship  company  would  appoint 
to  a  responsible  post  in  its  service  men  whose  eyesight 
had  not  been  tested  for  color  blindness — "  yet  '*in  the 
life  of  justice  trains  are  wrecked  and  ships  are  colliding 
too  often,  simply  because  the  law  does  not  care  to  examine 
the  mental  color  blindness  of  the  witness's  memory." 

In  the  chapter  on  *'The  Detection  of  Crime"  Miinster- 
berg  points  to  the  brutalities  of  the  third  degree  methods 
by  which  a  criminal  is  forced  to  confess— barbarisms  not 
far  behind  the  tortures  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Moreover, 
not  only  have  these  enforced  confessions  often  been  untrue, 
but  false  details  of  the  supposed  crime  have  been  added 
by  the  helpless,  distorted  imaginations  of  the  accused.  It 
would  be  a  blessing  indeed  if  these  extortions  could  be 
replaced  by  the  quiet,  reliable  experiments  of  the  trained 

371 


APPENDIX 


psychologist.  By  the  fine  and  exact  measurement  of  as- 
sociation time  the  psychologist  is  able  to  trace  the  guilt 
or  the  innocence  of  the  accused.  The  chronoscope,  the 
instrument  which  measures  the  association  time,  has  be- 
come, and  will  become  more  and  more,  for  the  student  of 
crime  what  the  microscope  is  for  the  student  of  disease. 
A  criminal  would  not  refuse  to  have  his  reaction  time 
measured,  because  such  a  refusal  would  arouse  suspicion. 
If  in  an  assortment  of  words,  some  are  interspersed  which 
are  connected  with  the  crime,  various  results  will  appear : 
in  the  first  place,  though  reference  to  the  crime  will  be 
skillfully  avoided,  the  concealed  associations  connected 
with  it  will  color  the  following  associations,  because  the 
mind  cannot  be  freed  from  their  persistence;  secondly, 
if  the  series  of  words  once  given  is  repeated,  the  suspicious 
words  are  likely  to  call  forth  different  associations  the 
second  time,  whereas  the  indifferent  ones  show  the  same 
reaction ;  thirdly,  there  is  a  retardation  in  the  associating 
process  not  only  immediately  after  the  suspicious  word, 
but  even  after  those  that  follow  it,  due  to  the  emotional 
shock  given  by  the  suspicious  one.  It  is  this  method  that 
Miinsterberg  used  in  testing  the  truthfulness  of  Harry 
Orchard  in  Boise,  Idaho.  This  new  method  of  testing 
guilt  is  as  yet  only  in  its  first  stages,  but  the  psychologist 
believed  that  the  time  must  come  when  the  help  of  psychol- 
ogy will  be  indispensable. 

This  chapter  is  supplemented  by  the  one  that  follows 
on  ** Traces  of  Emotion.''  That  changes  in  emotion  are 
betrayed  by  external  signs,  such  as  pallor,  trembling,  and 
the  like,  has  been  known  not  only  to  Hamlet  but  through 
all  ages.  But  the  psychologist  can  register  the  most  deli- 
cate fluctuations  of  emotion.  Various  instruments  that 
have  **  belonged  for  decades  to  the  household  equipment 
of  every  physiological  laboratory''  have  only  in  recent 
years  been  used  to  measure  emotions.    A  most  subtle  new 

372 


APPENDIX 


experimental  method  of  tracing  emotion  has  been  tried 
by  measuring  the  variations  of  resistance  to  an  electric 
current.  These  experimental  methods  are  still  too  unde- 
veloped to  be  made  the  basis  of  legal  decisions ;  besides,  the 
presence  of  the  emotional  excitement  does  not  necessarily 
point  to  guilty  emotion.  Yet  these  devices  may  be  very 
useful  and  devoid  of  danger  when  used  to  find  out  whether 
a  suspected  person  has  knowledge  of  certain  names,  places, 
people,  etc.  connected  with  a  crime.  But  the  future  of 
these  methods  cannot  yet  be  foreseen  and  later  develop- 
ments may  bring  with  them  more  and  more  possibilities 
for  use. 

In  the  chapter  on  '* Untrue  Confessions"  Miinsterberg, 
whose  mail  has  been  flooded  with  inquiries  from  strange, 
unbalanced  people,  complains  that  the  psychologist  is  now- 
adays called  upon  to  fulfill  detective  functions  for  which 
the  guileless  scholar  is  ill  fitted.  **But,"  he  says,  **if  the 
psychologist  has  thus  not  seldom  the  wish  that  the  de- 
tective were  consulted  in  his  place,  that  does  not  prevent 
his  regretting  sometimes  that  the  world  relies  on  the  de- 
tective instead  of  calling  in  the  psychologist."  That  a 
man  should  confess  to  a  crime  he  has  not  committed,  does 
not  appeal  to  common  sense  and  therefore  confessions  have 
so  often  led  to  the  punishment,  even  fatal  punishment, 
of  innocent  victims.  The  psychologist,  however,  knows 
better  and  recognizes  conditions  that  lead  inevitably  to 
untrue  confessions.  There  are,  of  course,  social  motives 
for  such  confessions,  such  as  the  fear  inspired  by  threats 
or  the  voluntary  taking  upon  one's  self  of  another's  guilt, 
or  the  hope  of  an  ameliorating  of  the  death  sentence  by 
confession  when  evidence  is  overwhelming.  Yet  these  are 
not  the  cases  with  which  the  psychologist  is  most  con- 
cerned. There  are  conditions  under  which  a  disturbed 
mind,  even  though  sane,  may  be  distracted  until  a  mental 
dissociation  takes  place  and  what  may  be  called  a  **split- 

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APPENDIX 

off"  personality  is  formed.    This  is  what  happened  to 
Ann  Foster  at  Salem  Village  in  1692  when  she  was  ac- 
cused of  being  a  witch  and  confessed  to  her  intercourse 
with  the  devil.     Self-accusation  is  a  symptom  of  melan- 
cholia.   Yet  hysteric  and  autohypnotic  states  that  lead  to 
erratic  action  may  develop  from  emotional  shock  or  strain 
in  otherwise  healthy  brains;  indeed,  no  sharp  demarcation 
line  can  be  drawn  between  symptoms  of  disease  and  varia- 
tions of  normal  life.    Dreams,  for  instance,  are  hallucina- 
tions, though  harmless  ones,  because  they  cannot  lead  to 
actions.     The  memory  for  dreams,  moreover,  varies.    Miin- 
sterberg  himself  used  to  astound  his  friends  by  declar- 
ing that  he  had  never  had  a  dream;  yet  he  was  well 
aware  that  this  was  merely  a  popular  way  of  expressing 
that  he  never  remembered  a  dream  after  waking;  for 
that  he  actually  did  dream  was  proved  by  his  habit  of 
talking  confusedly,  as  if  under  the  influence  of  a  fresh 
impression,  when  he  was  waked  out  of  sleep.    Many  mental 
attributes  and  defects  are  not  known  by  ourselves,  yet 
'*the  psychological  examination  furnishes  indeed  to-day 
a  kind  of  mental  Roentgen  rays  which  illumine  the  in- 
ternal happenings.''    Now  the  abnormal  symptoms  that 
the  tortured  victims  of  false  accusations  develop  are  in 
the  borderland  between  normal  variations  of  personality 
and  complete  pathological  self-destruction.    A  glaring  ex- 
ample of  a  dissociated  mental  state  was  revealed  in  a 
notorious  murder  case  in  Chicago  in  1906.    A  young  man 
who  had  found  the  body   of   a   murdered  woman   was 
pressed  by  accusations  until,  in  spite  of  his  innocence  and 
in  contradiction   to   his  first   denials,   he  not   only   con- 
fessed the  murder,  but  told  the  story  of  it  in  fantastic, 
impossible  details  that  did  not  even  agree  with  his  alibi. 
Miinsterberg  was  convinced  at  the  time  that  the  young 
man  was  innocent,  that  the  abnormal  confession  was  due 
to  some  shock  that  had  dissociated  the  mental  processes. 

374 


APPENDIX 


The  i)sychologist  declared  his  conviction  in  public,  but 
was  rewarded  with  a  storm  of  protest  from  the  Chicago 
press.  His  belief  was  justified;  for  suddenly  the  unfor- 
tunate victim  awoke  from  his  unnatural  state  and  denied 
his  guilt  completely;  he  even  denied  all  knowledge  of  his 
confessions,  or,  in  fact,  of  anything  that  had  happened  to 
him  after  seeing  the  flash  of  steel  of  a  revolver  pointed 
at  him.  ** Everything  about  that  time,''  he  declared,  **is 
a  blur,  a  blank  to  me.''  It  was  the  shock  of  this  sudden 
impression  upon  the  harassed  mind  that  had  brought  about 
the  abnormal  condition  which  had  led  to  the  false  confes- 
sion— exactly  as  the  psychologist  had  diagnosed  the  case. 
It  was,  however,  too  late  to  save  the  victim  of  ignorance 
from  the  death  punishment. 

In  the  chapter  ** Suggestions  in  Court"  the  author  em- 
phasizes the  power  of  suggestion,  not  only  in  the  extreme 
cases  of  hypnotized  patients  whose  power  of  inhibition 
is  broken  down  and  who  are  obedient  to  the  most  fantastic 
suggestions  of  the  hypnotist,  but  even  in  perfectly  normal 
life.  This  is,  of  course,  very  significant  for  the  juryman 
whose  decisions  may  be  swayed  considerably  by  suggestion, 
according  to  his  individual  suggestibility.  Tests  in  the 
psychological  laboratory  have  proved  the  substantial  in- 
fluence of  suggestion  in  the  normal,  intelligent  mind. 
Suggestion  always  involves  inhibition — that  is,  when  one 
idea  is  strongly  suggested,  the  opposite  idea  is  inhibited. 
According  to  the  action  theory,  when  the  channels  for 
motor  discharge  that  leads  to  a  certain  action  are  open, 
the  channels  for  discharge  that  leads  to  the  opposite  action 
are  closed  at  the  same  time.  Moreover,  'Hhe  ideas  which 
accompany  the  sensory  brain  processes  become  vivid  only 
when  these  channels  of  discharge  are  open"  and  become 
suppressed  when  those  channels  are  closed.  The  effect  of 
alcohol,  which  has  the  power  of  increasing  suggestibility 
not  unlike  that  of  hypnotism,  has  been  tested  experi- 

375 


APPENDIX 

mentally.  The  suggestibility  of  the  individual  in  a  crowd, 
especially  during  a  panic,  has  often  been  manifest,  and 
the  power  of  suggestion  in  public,  life,  particularly  in 
politics,  has  become  only  too  evident.  There^  are  indeed 
innumerable  ways  of  suggesting  ideas  and  inhibiting  the 
opposite  ideas;  and  the  dangers  of  suggestibility  loom  es- 
pecially large  when  they  affect  the  mind  of  the  responsible 
juryman. 

In  the  chapter  **  Hypnotism  and  Crime '^  the  author  re- 
flects on  the  mistaken  popular  views  of  hypnotism.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  criminals  could  be  hypnotized  into 
a  revelation  of  their  deeds.  Although,  indeed,  a  truth 
will  come  out  when  the  hypnotized  subject's  power  of 
deceit  is  inhibited,  yet  enforced  hypnosis  is  impossible, 
because  the  subject  must  put  himself  willingly  into  the 
hands  of  the  hypnotist  if  any  effect  is  to  be  gained,  and 
must  supplement  suggestions  received  with  his  own 
imagination.  Moreover,  the  court  would  not  be  morally 
or  legally  justified  in  relying  on  evidence  from  a  hypno- 
tized subject  who  in  his  hypnotized  state  is  no  longer 
his  complete  self.  Much  more  even  than  in  the  question 
of  hyphotizing  the  accused,  popular  belief  has  gone  astray 
in  its  distrust  of  the  criminal  hypnotist.  Belief  in  mes- 
meric powers,  the  **evil  eye''  and  the  like  have  always 
held  the  popular  imagination  and  this  ingrained  super- 
stition coupled  with  pseudo-scientific  knowledge  has  led  to 
fear  of  the  man  endowed  with  mysterious  hypnotic  powers 
who  performs  criminal  acts  through  hypnotized  agents,  or 
who  tortures  victims  with  his  uncanny  persecution.  All 
this  is  impossible,  and  the  statement  of  Punch  that  **  Pro- 
fessor Miinsterberg  of  Harvard  and  other  learned  men  have 
set  themselves  to  show  that  hypnotic  power  may  become 
a  most  dangerous  asset  of  the  criminal"  could  not  have 
been  more  ungrounded.  In  fact,  Miinsterberg  was  con- 
vinced that  in  principle  any  one  could  hypnotize  any 

376 


APPENDIX 


one,  after  he  had  acquired  the  necessary  technique  and 
used  skill  and  patience,  though  only  the  physician  ought 
to  attempt  it,  and  certain  qualifications  may  make  a  hypno- 
tist more  or  less  successful,  or  a  patient  more  or  less  easily 
hypnotized.  As  in  the  article  *  *  Hypnotism  and  Freedom, ' ' 
so  here  the  psychologist  once  more  reminds  the  world  of 
the  help  the  hyphotist  may  give  to  a  diseased  nature  by 
removing  the  morbid  handicap  and  restoring  a  man  to 
health  and  normal  life. 

Through  all  the  discussion  of  the  detection  of  crime  and 
the  treatment  of  criminals,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that 
nothing  is  so  important  as  the  ** Prevention  of  Crime," 
the  subject  of  the  la^t  chapter.  While  curing  a  ruined 
morphinist,  Miinsterberg  had  **to  think  of  the  cruelty 
with  which  society  has  treated  him.  He  was  not  born  a 
'dope  fiend';  he  did  not  choose  the  poison.  Organized 
society  injected  it  into  his  system — a  small  dose  only,  but 
enough  to  make  the  craving  irresistible,  and  when  it  had 
grown  to  disastrous  proportions,  society  was  ready  to 
despise  and  to  condemn  him."  No  man  is  bom  a  criminal. 
In  each  life  there  is  a  balancing  of  ideas  and  opposing  ideas, 
and  no  sharp  demarcation  line  can  be  drawn  between  the 
motives  of  a  criminal  and  of  a  non-criminal  life.  More- 
over, no  brain  or  temperament  is  perfect;  for  men  are 
born  with  qualities  that  lead  to  lack  of  success  along 
certain  lines,  but  not  necessarily  to  crime:  some  have  too 
strong  impulses,  some  too  weak  inhibitions,  and  so  on. 
Although  the  average  of  criminals  shows  a  lower  mental 
equipment  than  that  of  the  average  of  students,  nevertheless 
**no  one  is  predestined  by  his  brain  to  the  penitentiary." 
If  is  of  the  utmdst  importance  that  mental  or  tempera- 
mental weakness  should  be  counteracted  by  influences  that 
make  it  harmless.  Here  the  work  of  the  psychologist  with 
his  exact  measurements  and  unprejudiced  observation  can 
lead  to  most  helpful  suggestions.    The  psychologist  who 

377 


APPENDIX 


has  tested  experimentally  the  great  infltience  of  imitation 
knows  that  the  influence  of  the  vulgar  newspapers,  full  of 
stimulating  stories  of  crime,  must  be  to  promote  crime. 
The  effect  on  mental  processes  of  alcohol  and  other  stimu- 
lants may  also  be  more  safely  entrusted  to  the  experimental 
psychologist  than  to  the  layman.  *'That  is  just  the 
wonderful  power  of  the  psychological  experiment,  that  it 
can  analyze  the  largest  social  movements  in  the  smallest 
and  most  schematic  miniature  copies  of  the  mental  forces 
involved,  and  from  the  subtle  analysis  is  only  one  step 
to  the  elimination  of  dangers."  The  psychologist  more- 
over, cannot  see  in  the  fear  of  severe  punishment  the 
safest  prevention  of  crime,  for  men  may  live  in  an  at- 
mosphere of  crime  and  contempt  for  law  in  which  jail 
is  merely  an  incident.  More  effective  than  all  punish- 
ment is  a  condition  of  preventive  hygiene — and  mental 
hygiene  is  surely  as  important  as  physical.  *' There  is  no 
gain  if  we  avoid  typhoid  epidemics  and  fall  into  epidemics 
of  insanity."  It  is  of  supreme  importance  that  positive 
good  influences  should  work  as  counter  ideas  to  the  wrong 
impulses.  **To  create  a  public  life  which  is  an  example 
and  an  inspiration  to  the  humblest,  which  fills  with  civic 
pride  the  lowest,  means  to  abolish  the  penitentiaries." 

The  book  On  the  Witness  Stand,  as  has  been  said,  at- 
tained  an  extraordinary  popularity  with  a  large  variety  of 
readers.  A  few  months  after  its  appearance,  the  news- 
paper world  resounded  with  echoes  of  an  article  published 
in  McClure's  Magazine  upon  an  immediate  problem  of 
American  public  life  as  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  psychologist.  Scarcely  .another  of  Miinsterberg's 
popular  articles  rivaled  this  one  in  the  vehemence  of  the 
controversy  it  aroused.  This  literally  **much  abused" 
and  voluminously  quoted  article  was  called  ''Prohibition 
and  Social  Psychology."  To  eliminate  possible  misunder- 
standing  and  to  show  that  his  private  interest  in  the 

378 


APPENDIX 


problem  was  nil,  the  author  confessed  that  he  neither 
smoked  cigars,  nor  played  cards,  had  not  touched  beer  for 
years,  except  once  in  the  company  of  an  Episcopal  clergy- 
man whom  he  did  not  wish  to  disappoint  in  his  hospitality 
— in  fact,  that  he  had  never  taken  any  pleasure  in  beer 
drinking  and  had  never  drunk  a  cocktail.  He,  moreover, 
enjoyed  living  in  the  non-license  atmosphere  of  Cam- 
bridge which  he  hoped  would  continue  thus  **as  long  as 
freshmen  stroll  over  the  old  Harvard  Yard." 

His  interest  in  the  problem  was  then  entirely  due  to  his 
interest  in  public  welfare,  and  the  criticism  he  had  to 
offer  against  the  fanatic  prohibitionists  was  that  of  the 
psychologist,  not  of  the  economist  or  the  politician.  To 
be  sure,  he  touched  upon  the  oft  asserted  objection  that 
the  prohibition  laws  would  be  an  infringement  of  personal 
liberty;  yet  he  maintained  that  upon  closer  examination 
every  law  will  be  seen  in  some  measure  to  curtail  indi- 
vidual liberty.  Miinsterberg^s  chief  point,  however,  was 
his  belief  that  prohibition  would  not  do  away  with  the  evil 
it  intended  to  destroy.  Thus  the  saloon  with  its  immoder- 
ate drinking  of  strong  intoxicants  should  be  abolished,  the 
psychologist  agreed  perfectly;  but  that  with  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  saloon  all  consumption  of  alcohol  should 
stop,  seemed  to  him  fraught  with  new  dangers.  Indeed, 
the  ** lonely  drinker  of  the  temperance  town"  who  uses 
the  drug  store  for  his  bar  and  finds  no  limit  to  his  lonely 
debauch  is  a  far  greater  menace  to  wholesome  national  life 
than  the  man  who  drinks  light  beer  or  wine  in  company. 
Further,  the  opponents  of  the  rash  prohibition  law  will 
spitefully  disregard  a  law  that  was  forced  on  them  and 
that  is  repugnant  to  them;  hence  a  spirit  of  lawlessness 
will  be  fostered.  ''Hasty  and  hysterical  that  kind  of  law- 
making is  indeed,  and  might  be  compared  with  a  forbidding 
of  meat  consumption  because  scientists  have  become  con- 
vinced that  people  eat  too  much  meat."    In  the  eagerness 

379 


APPENDIX 

of  emotional  law-making,  the  benefits  which  the  temperate 
consumption  of  alcohol  in  mild  forms  may  and  does  bestow 
in  many  cases  are  naturally  overlooked.  Prejudices  are 
strong  and  ascribe  evil  effects  to  even  the  smallest  dose 
of  alcohol.  Yet  this  is  arbitrary :  '*  To  climb  Mont  Blanc 
would  overtax  my  heart/'  said  the  psychologist,  ''is  it 
therefore  inadvisable  for  me  to  climb  the  two  flights  to  my 
laboratory?"  What  alcohol  does  is  to  inhibit  certain 
brain  functions,  to  set  free  the  impulses  that  otherwise 
would  have  been  restrained.  Yet,  if  this  influence  is  not 
inordinate,  it  can  do  no  more  harm  than  countless  other 
agents  that  inhibit  brain  centers,  as,  for  instance,  an  act 
of  attention  or  our  indispensable  sleep.  Moreover,  if  wine 
can  bring  harmless  relief  by  this  power  of  liberating  im- 
pulses and  undoing  emotional  checks,  it  may  serve  a 
good  purpose  by  helping  toward  enthusiasm,  cheer,  and 
temporary  freedom  from  the  oppression  of  small  cares. 
Artistic  and  aesthetic  life  is  benefited  by  this  liberating 
effect;  by  it  also  the  will  and  energy  for  new  enterprises 
are  encouraged.  Though  individuals,  especially  among  the 
educated,  may  not  need  this  stimulus,  the  nation  as  a  whole 
is  in  need  of  it.  If  the  opportunity  for  temperate  use 
of  light  stimulants  is  withheld,  then  men  will  seek  more 
harmful  substitutes  and  prohibition  will  defeat  itself. 
Therefore  the  saloon  should  be  abolished,  and  harmless, 
social  drinking  in  wholesome  surroundings  established  in 
its.  stead. 

This  article,  of  course,  inspired  a  storm  of  protest  from 
the  prohibitionists.  No  thrust  was  spared :  all  the  subtleties 
of  dialectics  and  all  the  harshness  of  invective  were 
directed  against  the  guileless  scholar  who,  surely  without 
passion  for  any  cause,  had  merely  stated  his  views  and 
based  them  on  his  science.  Soon  after  his  article  had 
appeared,  McClure's  Magazine  published  an  article  in 
favor  of  prohibition  by  Dr.  Henry  Smith  Williams  who 

380 


APPENDIX 


maintained  that  alcohol  was  harmful  in  any  quantity. 
Not  a  few  newspapers  compared  these  two  articles,  or 
quoted  extensively  not  only  from  Miinsterberg's  writings, 
but  from  the  pamphlets  that  were  aimed  at  him.  Against 
a  bitter  and  merciless  attack  from  the  Vice-Presidential 
candidate  for  the  Prohibition  Party,  Miinsterberg  was  gal- 
lantly defended  by  Dr.  Arthur  Cabot,  Winslow  Warren, 
and  Thomas  Nelson  Perkins.  Eloquent  arguments  against 
the  temperance  views  of  the  Psychologist  were  poured 
forth  by  clergymen,  by  a  professor  in  Clark  University, 
by  ardent  prohibitionists  from  far  and  near.  Neverthe- 
less sober  voices,  too,  were  heard  above  the  tumult. 

An  attacking  pamphlet,  moreover,  was  answered  by  Dr. 
Charles  Loomis  Dana,  who  denied  that  moderate  use  of 
alcohol  was  necessarily  harmful.  Now  that  the  discussion 
had  once  started,  there  seemed  to  be  no  end.  Before  the 
Contemporary  Club  in  Philadelphia  Miinsterberg  was  in- 
vited to  meet  in  debate  the  two  prohibitionists.  Professor 
Patten  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Reverend 
Samuel  J.  Barrows  of  the  International  Prison  Commis- 
sion, and  accounts  of  this  debate  again  filled  the  news- 
papers. In  a  speech  to  the  Economic  Club  in  Boston, 
Miinsterberg  referred  to  a  previous  address  by  President 
Eliot,  who  had  recently  declared  himself  for  prohibition. 
Although  very  intelligent  readers  rallied  to  his  defense, 
Miinsterberg  found  himself  between  Scylla  and  Charybdis 
— between  the  attacks  of  the  prohibitionists  and  the  praise 
of  the  liquor  interest.  That  his  article  was  reprinted  and 
circulated  by  the  Personal  Liberty  League  of  Ohio,  that 
violent  attacks  were  followed  by  disagreeable  insinuation, 
could  not  be  avoided,  and  was  merely  the  price  to  be  paid 
for  candor. 

Finally,  one  more  book  belongs  to  this  period,  the 
German  volume  Aus  Deutsch-Amerika,  a  collection  of  ad- 
dresses and  articles  that  treat  on  relations  between  America 

381 


APPENDIX 

and  Germany.  The  last  essay  in  this  volume  is  the  me- 
morial tribute  to  Miinsterberg's  distinguished  friend, 
Frederick  William  Rolls,  and  the  book  is  dedicated  **to 
the  memory  of  Carl  Schurz." 

On  glancing  back  upon  the  literary  output  of  the  period 
just  chronicled,  it  may  be  said  that,  although  Miinsterberg 
devoted  his  chief  attention  and  the  largest  amount  of 
labor  to  the  creation  in  book  form  of  his  system  of  philos- 
ophy, nevertheless  he  had  given  to  the  world  a  liberal 
measure  of  other  fruit,  both  technical  and  popular,  con- 
tributing toward  the  solution  of  various  social  problems, 
especially  those  in  the  field  of  legal  psychology. 


CHAPTER  X 

The  year  1909  was  perhaps  the  most  remarkably  fruit- 
ful of  all  these  years  so  rich  in  literary  output,  and  it 
may  well  be  looked  upon  as  the  most  characteristic.  Some 
idea  may  be  gained  of  the  intense  concentration  with  which 
Miinsterberg  dictated  his  books,  if  one  considers  that 
Psychotherapy  was  written  between  January  2nd  and  Feb- 
ruary 12th;  The  Eternal  Values  between  February  25th 
and  April  1st;  and  Psychology  and  the  Teacher  between 
April  15th  and  June  20th.  An  abundance  of  essays,  too, 
were  written  in  this  year  and  the  next,  and  they  appeared 
in  various  periodicals.  In  1910  they  were  gathered  to- 
gether in  a  volume  named  American  Prohlems.  This  im- 
mense productivity  would  not  have  been  possible  without 
the  faithful  cooperation  of  his  secretary,  Miss  Zora  P. 
Wilkins,  who  from  the  year  1909  to  the  last  day  of  his 
life,  devoted  herself  to  Miinsterberg 's  work.  She  not  only 
** wrote  all  his  books''  as  Miinsterberg  often  humorously 
declared,  but  was  the  actual  first  reader  of  his  works,  and 

382 


APPENDIX 


her  reaction  upon  them  was  often  found  to  be  full  of  valu- 
able suggestion  and  wise  help. 

The  seer  in  Miinsterberg  gave  the  world  The  Eternal 
Values,  the  healer,  Psychothempy,  In  the  latter  the 
psychologist  gave  a  new  and  urgently  needed  contribution 
to  the  science  of  curing  mental  and  bodily  disorders 
through  influence  on  the  mind;  in  the  former,  the  philos- 
opher gave  profoundly  and  completely  his  view  of  the 
world  of  values. 

Psychotherapy  came  just  in  time.  There  had  been 
too  much  misguided  curiosity  on  the  part  of  the  public, 
too  much  dabbling  in  psychological  half-knowledge  and, 
on  the  part  of  the  physicians,  too  much  ignorance  of  the 
curative  virtues  of  psychological  treatment.  In  the  inter- 
est of  physicians  who  needed  information,  not  from  a 
psychiatrist  but  from  an  experimental  psychologist,  and 
in  the  interest  of  the  public  groping  among  the  mists  of 
indefinite  conceptions,  there  was  needed  such  a  book.  Ac- 
cordingly, as  soon  as  it  was  published,  it  was  devoured 
by  hungry  readers.  Psychotherapy  appeared  at  the  be- 
ginning of  May,  1909,  and  at  the  end  of  June  3,000 
copies  had  been  sold. 

Miinsterberg  not  only  had  studied  medicine  and  taken 
the  degree  of  M.  D.,  but  he  had,  in  his  earliest  years  of 
university  teaching,  given  what  was  probably  the  first 
course  in  hypnotism.  His  familiarity,  as  years  went  on, 
with  the  actual  practice  of  hypnotic  treatment  is  well 
known.  Therefore  he  felt  called  upon  to  clarify  the  popu- 
lar confusion  in  regard  to  the  nature  and  functions  of 
psychotherapy.  At  the  same  time  he  wished  to  argue  for 
the  necessity  of  physicians'  studying  psychology — ^normal 
psychology  in  college,  abnormal  psychology  in  the  medical 
school. 

**  Psychotherapy  is  the  practice  of  treating  the  sick  by  in- 
fluencing the  mental  life.*'    This  is  a  definition   that 

383 


APPENDIX 

Miinsterberg  gave  in  his  introductory  chapter,  with  em- 
phasis on  the  distinction  from  psychiatry,  which  is  the 
treatment  of  mental  diseases.  Here  also  he  has  pointed 
out  the  odd  position  of  psychotherapy  in  modern  life  which 
has  made  this  young  science,  on  the  one  hand,  the  apex 
of  the  realistic  movement  that  subordinates  all  things,  even 
mental  life,  to  natural  laws,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
symptom  of  the  rising  idealistic  movement  that  makes 
mind  supreme  over  matter.  It  is  the  confusion  between 
these  two  aspects  that  needs  to  be  dispelled. 

After  the  introduction,  the  book  is  divided  into  three 
parts:  **The  Psychological  Basis  of  Psychotherapy,'* 
' '  The  Practical  Work  of  Psychotherapy, ' '  and  *  *  The  Place 
of  Psychotherapy.** 

In  the  chapter  on  ''The  Aim  of  Psychology**  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  purposive  and  the  causal  view  of  the 
world,  which  cannot  be  reiterated  too  often,  is  given  due 
emphasis.  **Life  is  bigger  than  thought.**  Only  by 
recognizing  the  whole  scientific  causal  system  merely  as 
a  tool  for  the  living  purpose  of  explaining  true  relations, 
not  as  itself  the  beginning  of  truth,  can  the  aim  of  psychol- 
ogy be  understood.  **  Causal  truth  can  be  only  the  second 
word ;  the  first  word  remains  to  purposive  truth.  *  * 

Psychology  is  a  descriptive  science  as  much  as  physics, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  description  the  psychical  phenom- 
ena must  be  reduced  to  elements,  even  as  phj'^ical  substances 
are  reduced  to  atoms.  Moreover  the  psychical  experience 
is  private  property,  that  is,  begins  and  ends  with  the  in- 
dividual consciousness,  and  the  only  element  to  which  it 
can  be  reduced  is  the  individual  sensation. 

In  the  following  chapter  on  **Mind  and  Body**  we  come 
to  the  basis  of  modern  psychological  study:  the  psycho- 
physical parallelism.  In  order  that  any  phenomenon  may 
be  explained  scientifically,  it  must  be  a  link  in  a  causal 
chain.    Mental  phenomena  cannot  be  explained  at  all,  un- 

384 


APPENDIX 


less  they  can  be  brought  into  some  causal  connection. 
This  can  be  done  only  by  considering  each  isolated  phenom- 
enon as  the  accompaniment  of  a  physical  brain  process; 
for  the  brain  processes,  like  all  physical  phenomena,  can 
be  explained  in  their  causal  connection. 

For  a  hundred  years  ''the  simple  scheme  of  the  physi- 
ology of  association  has  given  a  most  decided  impulse  to 
the  progress  of  psychology.**  The  association  theory 
recognizes  the  "path  of  least  resistance'*  once  established 
between  brain  centers  stimulated  at  the  same  time.  Recog- 
nition of  the  "switch-board**  function  of  certain  brain 
cells,  which  do  not  themselves  receive  sensory  impressions 
but  transmit  impressions  from  one  center  to  another,  has 
further  strengthened  the  association  theory.  This  account 
of  the  psychical  processes,  however,  was  found  not  to  be 
enough  to  explain  the  full  complexity  of  mental  life  with 
its  variety  of  vividness  and  clearness,  its  suppression  and 
inhibition.  It  has  been  recognized,  finally,  that  the  cortex 
is  not  only  the  recipient,  but  also  the  starting  point  for 
motor  processes,  that  the  centrifugal  processes,  issuing 
from  the  brain,  are  fully  as  important  as  the  centripetal 
processes  leading  to  the  brain.  A  unified  arc  of  sensory 
and  motor  processes  as  a  means  of  the  organism's  ad- 
justment to  its  surroundings  is  a  biological  necessity. 
Further,  the  vividness  of  sensation  elements  can  be  ex- 
plained by  the  opening  or  closing  of  motor  channels,  in- 
asmuch as  those  ideas  are  vivid  that  find  the  motor  chan- 
nels open  while  the  opposite  ideas  are  inhibited  through 
the  closing  of  the  channels  for  the  opposite  action.  The 
part  that  not  only  the  motor  activity,  but  the  whole  motor 
setting  plays  in  mental  life  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
for  the  understanding  of  psychotherapy.  In  the  infinite 
complexity  of  mental  life,  with  its  manifold  sensation 
elements  and  motor  activities,  the  freedom  of  man,  in  the 
psychological  sense,  must  be  conceived  as  the  "unity  of  an 

385 


APPENDIX 


interconnected  composite  and  the  freedom  of  causal  deter- 
mination through  normal  cooperation  of  all  of  its  parts." 
This  biological  conception  of  freedom  must  not  be  confused 
with  the  real  freedom  of  will  and  purpose  that  has  merely 
postulated  the  whole  causal  system  for  ends  of  its  own. 

In  the  chapter  ** Psychology  and  Medicine,"  this  dis- 
tinction between  free,  immediate  life  and  the  artificial 
reconstruction  of  life  into  a  causal  system  for  the  purpose 
of  scientific  observation  is  given  special  emphasis.  In 
response  to  **  discussions  of  Christian  Scientists  and 
Christian  half -scientists"  the  psychologist  points  out  that 
for  the  purposes  of  medicine  the  inner  life  must  be  con- 
sidered as  part  of  a  causal  system.  The  same  influence, 
such  as  the  advice  of  a  minister,  which  in  immediate  life 
has  its  independent  purpose  value,  must,  when  used  by  the 
physician,  become  merely  part  of  a  method  adapted  to 
a  necessary  system  of  cause  and  effect.  Applied  psychol- 
ogy, of  course,  is  in  a  peculiar  position.  It  is  not  by 
means  of  the  causal  science  itself  that  the  aims  for  which 
psychology  should  be  applied  can  be  determined:  these 
must  be  chosen  by  free  motives  quite  outside  of  the 
scientific,  causally  constructed  world.  After  the  aim  has 
once  been  set,  whether  in  the  field  of  education,  of  law, 
or  of  medicine,  psychology  must  apply  its  own  strictly 
scientific  methods  for  the  attainment  of  this  aim.  The 
aims  and  motives  of  practical  life  must  determine  the  pur- 
pose of  the  physician,  which  is  evidently  to  cure  the  patient. 
After  this  purpose  has  once  been  given,  the  method  of  the 
physician  is  wholly  scientific,  no  matter  what  material  he 
may  decide  to  use,  even  if  such  material  should  seem  to 
belong  to  the  world  of  purposes  and  ideals.  There  is  need 
for  applied  psychology  as  a  distinct  science  related  to 
psychology,  as  engineering  is  related  to  physics  and 
chemistry. 

The  field  of  psychomedicine   does  not  cover   psycho- 

386 


APPENDIX 

therapy  alone.  Psychology  is  needed  in  diagnosis  as  well 
as  in  therapeutics.  Cases  for  psychological  diagnosis  are 
manifold :  there  are  those  in  which  the  mind  itself  is  ab- 
normal ;  those  in  which  the  normal  mind  is  affected  by  ab- 
normal parts  of  the  body;  and  those  in  which  abnormal 
bodily  processes  are  influenced  by  the  normal  mind.  In- 
deed, the  psychical  factor  enters  constantly  into  the  cal- 
culations of  the  physician,  and  makes  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  psychology  indispensible.  The  author  emphasizes 
the  importance  of  psychodiagnostics,  although  this  field 
lies  outside  the  compass  of  his  book.  He  advocates  the 
attachment  of  psychological  laboratories  to  psychiatric 
clinics,  particularly  to  fill  the  need  for  psychological  treat- 
ment of  those  mild  abnormalities  and  nervous  disorders 
that  lie  outside  of  insanity.  Not  only  will  the  complex, 
delicate  apparatus  of  the  psychological  laboratory  serve 
to  diagnose  cases,  but  association  and  memory  tests  that 
require  no  elaborate  outfit  whatever,  may  also  be  of  the 
greatest  service.  The  methods  of  the  psychological  labora- 
tory furnish  means  of  detecting  not  only  mental,  but 
physical,  disorders ;  for  instance,  by  the  right  use  of  hypno- 
tism, certain  diseased  conditions  may  be  diagnosed   as 

well  as  cured. 

Normal  and  abnormal  psychology  are  not  widely  apart. 
!Mental  disease  introduces  no  new  elements  not  known  in 
health,  but  the  abnormal  phenomena  are  rather  like  carica- 
tures of  the  normal.  **The  only  real  test  of  health  is  the 
serviceableness  to  the  needs  of  life,"  and  the  borderland 
region  between  the  obviously  normal  and  abnormal  is  re- 
markably large.  Although  there  is  'a  far-reaching  in- 
dependence between  the  apparent  mental  variations  and 
the  seriousness  of  the  brain  affection,"  nevertheless  the 
whole  postulate  of  psychological  knowledge  makes  it  im- 
perative to  postulate  that  every  mental  disturbance  must 
accompany  a  pathological  change  in  the  anatomy  of  the 

387 


APPENDIX 


brain,  even  though  this  change  be  undiscernible  by  the 
microscope;  the  popular  distinction,  therefore,  between  or- 
ganic and  functional  diseases  is  unscientific.  Finally,  the 
methods  of  psychotherapy  must  cooperate  with  physical 
applications,  and  the  suggestive  words  spoken  by  the 
psychologist  to  the  patient  must  be  measured  by  exactly 
the  same  standard  as  a  curative  electric  current  or  opiate 

or  douche. 

A  chapter  is  devoted  to  ''Suggestion  and  Hypnotism." 
Psychotherapy,  which  is  the  *  *  effort  to  repair  the  disturbed 
equilibrium  of  human  functions  by  influencing  the  mental 
life,''  has  no  more  powerful  tool  than  that  of  suggestion. 
A  suggestion  is  **an  idea  which  has  a  power  in  our  mind 
to  suppress  the  opposite  idea.''  This  influence  is  con- 
stantly at  work  in  greater  or  lesser  degrees  of  intensity, 
and  the  special  state  of  hypnotism  is  merely  an  artificial  in- 
crease of  suggestibility.  The  impulse  to  one  action  makes 
the  impulse  to  the  opposite  action  impossible;  hence  by 
reenforcing  in  larger  and  larger  parts  of  the  central 
content  of  consciousness  the  idea  of  one  goal,  the  idea  of 
the  opposite  goal  is  inhibited. 

The  problem  of  suggestion  is  closely  bound  up  with  that 
of  attention.  Attention  to  one  idea  involves  inhibition  of 
the  opposite  idea.  When  the  channels  for  one  set  of 
psycho-motor  reactions  are  open,  those  for  the  opposite 
complex  of  actions  are  closed.  Attention  has  the  power  of 
adjusting  the  motor-setting  and  opening  or  blocking 
channels  for  the  discharge  in  action.  Suggestion,  how- 
ever, goes  further  than  attention.  The  motor  response  in 
attention  works  towards  a  fuller  clearness  of  an  idea; 
the  motor  response  in  suggestion  works  toward  practical 
action  in  which  the  object  of  the  idea  is  accepted  as  real. 
Not  ideas,  but  **  actions  and  beliefs  are  the  only  possible 
material  of  any  suggestion."  *'In  attention,  we  change 
the  object  in  making  it  clearer;  in  suggestion,  we  change 

388 


APPENDIX 


ourselves  in  adapting  ourselves  to  the  new  situation  in 
which  we  believe."  The  use  of  suggestion,  of  course,  is 
a  powerful  tool  of  the  psychotherapist.  The  various  hyp- 
notic states  he  may  bring  about  in  his  patient  are  merely 
increased  states  of  suggestibility,  secured  through  over- 
attention  to  the  suggestions  of  the  hypnotizer.  The  arti- 
ficial state  of  hypnosis  and  the  pathological  state  of 
hysteria  represent  the  highest  degrees  of  suggestibility. 
Between  these  two  and  the  normal  state,  there  lie  number- 
less steps  of  transition,  and  no  sharp  demarcation  line 
can  be  drawn  between  suggestions  received  in  a  waking 
state  and  those  received  in  a  hypnoid  state. 

**The  story  of  the  subconscious  mind  can  be  told  in  three 
words:  there  is  none."  Thus  Miinsterberg  begins  the 
chapter  on  the  ''Subconscious,"  that  subject  so  fascinat- 
ing to  the  popular  imagination  and  so  largely  misunder- 
stood. In  the  popular  mind  the  subconscious  personality 
seems  to  have  an  independent  existence  or  to  be  some 
metaphysical  power  that  manifests  itself  through  the  in- 
spirations of  a  medium;  it  is  often  conceived  as  a  lower 
personality  that  needs  to  be  subdued.  But  the  psychol- 
ogist can  have  nothing  to  do  with  these  vagaries.  It  must 
be  understood  that  facts  are  referred  to  the  subconscious 
which  are  merely  processes  in  the  physical  organism  or 
processes  in  the  conscious  mind  abnormally  connected. 
As  consciousness  is  only  the  subject  of  awareness,  "to  have 
psychical  existence  at  all  means — to  be  object  of  awareness 
for  a  consciousness."  Psychical  objects  below  conscious- 
ness are  therefore  as  impossible  as  '*a  wooden  piece  of 
iron."  Indeed,  "consciousness  is  an  inactive  spectator 
for  the  procession  of  the  contents."  It  has  no  unity  in 
itself  and  whatever  unity  there  is  belongs  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  its  contents.  Thus  consciousness,  which  is  merely 
a  constant  condition  for  the  existence  of  its  contents, 
cannot  have  different  degrees.    Further,  it  must  be  borne 

389 


APPENDIX 


in  mind  that  the  appearance  of  an  idea  can  be  explained 
causally  only  through  physiological  processes,  that  hence 
not  the  impressions  remain  in  the  mind,  but  the  dispositions 
of  physiological  centers.  As  the  brain  excitement  explains 
the  new  perception  in  the  mind,  so  the  renewed  brain 
excitement  explains  the  renewed  perception  in  the  mind. 
Thus  in  a  hypnotic  state,  channels  long  closed  may  be 
reopened  for  discharge.  The  dispositions  of  the  brain 
centers,  moreover,  may  cause  physiological  processes  that 
lead  to  actions  or  influences  on  other  mental  processes. 
The  psychological  switch  system  may  have  been  dis- 
ordered by  some  emotional  experience,  yet  into  the  dis- 
turbed process  no  mental  factor  need  enter.  Another 
group  of  processes  called  ** subconscious'*  is  actually  within 
consciousness,  but  not  object  of  attention  or  recogni- 
tion. "Much  that  figures  in  literature  as  subconscious 
means  indeed  nothing  else  but  the  unattended.*'  In  the 
abnormal  sphere  we  come  upon  those  so-called  **  uncon- 
scious** phenomena  which  are  nevertheless  in  conscious- 
ness, but  dissociated  from  the  organized  personality.  Such 
unconscious  processes,  however,  are  not  confined  to  the  ab- 
normal; isolated  impressions  that  do  not  connect  them- 
selves through  memory  with  the  idea  of  the  whole  personal- 
ity are  frequent  in  normal  life.  Where  such  a  situation 
appears  in  an  extreme  form,  the  abnormality,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  somnambulist,  lies  in  a  lack  of  memory  connec- 
tions, not  in  an  absence  of  consciousness.  No  phenomenon, 
however  pathological,  in  any  way  involves  the  existence 
of  subconsciousness. 

The  second  part  of  the  book,  on  **The  Practical  Work 
of  Psychotherapy**  Miinsterbelrg  begins  with  a  survey  of  the 
** Field  of  Psychotherapy.**  He  points  out  the  two  schools 
of  psychotherapy  that  are  both  mistaken:  the  one  that 
bases  its  theories  on  the  contrast  between  the  conscious 
and  the  unconscious;  the  other  that  lays  stress  on  the 

390 


APPENDIX 

power  of  the  mind  over  the  body.    Both  lead  to  mystical 
conceptions  and  to  confusion   of   the   main   issue.    For 
psychotherapy  goes  hand  in  hand  with  physical  therapy 
and  in  no  way  desires  to  displace  direct  physical  applica- 
tions.   *' There   is   no   opposition   between   psychophysio- 
logical atid  physiological  means  of  influencing  the  brain.** 
**  Suggestions  and  bromides  together**  may  cure  the  patient. 
The  disturbance  that  requires  psychotherapeutic  treatment 
may  be  in   the  psychophysical  system   itself  or  outside 
of  it ;  the  disturbance  within  this  system  may  come  from 
without  or  it  may  be  due  to  an  abnormal  constitution  of 
the  system  itself.    The  disturbances   from  without  and 
their  effects  are  manifold,  and  need  not  here  be  enumerated. 
Among  these  effects  belongs  neurasthenia,  which  offers  a 
specially  large  field  for  psychotherapy.    The  kind  of  neu- 
rasthenia, however,  which  results  from  inherited  disability, 
as  well  as  psychasthenia— an  abnormal  suggestibility  for 
autosuggestions— belongs  to  that   group   of  disturbances 
which  are  due  to  abnormalities  of  the  brain.    Numerous 
symptoms  in  this  group  may  be  removed  by  psychothera- 
peutic treatment,   although  some,  such  as  epilepsy  and 
paranoia,  can  gain  small  help  from  psychotherapy.    It 
must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  psychothera- 
pist removes  symptoms,  but  does  not  thereby  pretend  to 
cure  the  complete  disease  without  resource  to  other  cura- 
tive means.    **The  physician  has  to  be  much  more  than  a 
psychotherapist,**  but  it  cannot  be  often  enough  repeated 
that  '*  whatever  else  he  may  be,  he  must  be  also  a  psycho- 
therapist.** 

In  the  chapter  on  the  **  General  Methods  of  Psycho- 
therapy** Miinsterberg  lays  special  stress  on  the  warning 
that  schematic  treatment  in  psychotherapy  is  disastrous, 
for  **  there  are  no  two  cases  alike  and  the  most  subtle  dif- 
ferences among  patients  must  be  taken  into  account.*' 
Miinsterberg,  on  the  whole,  is  not  inclined  to  believe  that 

391 


APPENDIX 


the  noise  and  hurry  of  modern  civilization  has  increased 
the  nervous  troubles  of  our  age,  but  rather  that  the  tech- 
nical devices  of  to-day  tend  to  make  life  more  smooth  and 
to  save  nervous  energy.  The  psychologist  recommends 
contact  with  beauty,  moderate  sport,  pleasant  company, 
avoidance  of  excitement,  reduction  of  stimulants,  for  those 
nervous  patients  who  require  a  change.  But  often  the 
training  for  work  is  more  necessary  than  rest.  Superfi- 
cial training,  ** go-as-you-please*'  methods,  following  the 
paths  of  least  resistance,  frequently  lead  to  **the  disor- 
ganization of  the  brain  energies."  Whereas  the  well  or- 
ganized brain  by  its  controlling  idea  is  able  to  inhibit  its 
opposite,  the  undisciplined  brain  is  prey  to  any  chance  in- 
trusion. Idleness,  absence  of  a  central  life  purpose, 
dreary  monotony  are  all  harmful  for  the  nervous  system. 
In  the  treatment  of  nervous  cases,  it  is  essential  that  the 
patient  should  feel  sure  of  the  physician's  sympathy,  and 
this  sympathy,  on  the  other  hand,  must  not  be  over- 
done or  fail  to  be  combined  with  authority.  The  help  of 
religious  emotion  may  be  valuable.  All  in  all,  the  ut- 
most tact  and  skill  of  the  physician  is  required  to  apply 
exactly  the  right  measure  for  every  case. 

In  the  chapter  on  ** Special  Methods"  the  author  empha- 
sizes the  important  salutary  effect  of  suggestion.  With  a 
psychasthenic  patient  the  suggestion  may  even  be  given  in 
the  form  of  an  argument;  but  where  reasoning  is  not  ef- 
fective, persuasion  must  set  in.  **  Persuasion  relies  on 
personal  powers  to  secure  conviction  where  the  logic  of 
the  argument  is  insufficient  to  overcome  contradictions." 
This  kind  of  persuasion  is  merely  one  kind  of  suggestion ; 
and  there  are  many  subtle  methods  which  the  psycho- 
therapist may  use,  but  which  cannot  here  be  described  in 
detail.  He  may  assure  a  patient  that  a  certain  improve- 
ment will  set  in  at  a  certain  time;  he  may  use  make  be- 
lieve treatments,  although  these  are  to  be  avoided  if  pos- 

392 


APPENDIX 


sible;  he  may  resolve  an  inhibited  action  into  its  com- 
ponent parts  and  show  a  patient  that  he  is  quite  capable 
of  performing  the  separate  parts  of  the  impossible  ac- 
tion ;  by  opening  the  paths  for  its  motor  expression,  he  may 
reenfoTce  the  opposite  of  a  troublesome  idea;  to  gain  a 
better  effect,  he  may  give  a  suggestion  merely  as  a  passing 
hint,  as  in  cases  of  ** negativism"  or  abnormal  obstinacy. 
Suggestions  given  to  the  patient  while  in  a  normal  state 
are  helpful  only  to  the  suggestible  mind.    Those  not  so 
equipped  must  have  their  suggestibility  heightened.    There 
are  various  simple  means  of  bringing  about  this  heightened 
suggestibility,  such  as  laying  the  hand  gently  upon  the 
patient 's  forehead,  stroking  movements,  artificial  positions 
of  the  patients,  monotony  of   speech.    And  these  aids 
lead  to  the  use  of  the  hypnoid  and  hypnotic  states.    From 
the  fullness  of  his  practical  experience,  the  psychologist 
describes  the  various  methods  of  influencing  the  patient 
through  suggestion  during  natural  sleep,  during  hypnoid 
and  full  hypnotic  states,  and  the  methods  by  which  patients 
are  brought  into  these  conditions.    There  are  still  other 
means  of  curing  disturbances  in  the  mind.    One  is  the 
** cathartic"  method  by  which  the  patient  is  skillfully  led 
to  the  discharge  of  the  original  trouble  that  caused  sup- 
pressed emotion  and  hence  mental  disorder;  for  through 
the  motor  discharge  of  the  emotions  accompanying  the 
original    experience    the    trouble    is    relieved.    Another 
method  is  the  side-tracking  of  the  original  emotion,  which 
has    caused    a    disturbance,    into    harmless    paths.    The 
source  of  the  disturbance  may  be  detected  by  skillfully 
given  association  tests  during  which  the  reaction  time  of 
the  patient  is  measured  and  pulse,  breathing,  and  involun- 
tary  movements  are  registered  by  instruments.    If  these 
methods  of  reaching  the  pristine  disturbance  fail,  the  phy- 
sician may  resort  to  the  hypnotic  state  that  reenf  orces  the 
memory  or  to  a  loose  dreamy  play  of  ideas  by  which  the 

393 


APPENDIX 


lost  emotion  is  brought  forward — a  process  called  the 
psycho-analytic  method. 

In  the  chapter  on  ''The  Mental  Symptoms''  the  psychol- 
ogist gives  accounts  of  special  cases  he  has  treated  him- 
self. Though  a  large  number  of  sensational  cases  came 
under  his  treatment,  nevertheless  he  has  purposely  given 
here  only  examples  of  nervous  afflictions  that  are  typical 
and  may  be  found  in  any  community.  He  emphasizes 
once  more  that  he  is  here  not  concerned  with  the  insane 
and  that  psychotherapeutic  methods  are  on  the  whole  in- 
effective in  the  asylum.  The  experiences  that  Miinsterberg 
recounts  are  various:  there  are  cases  of  obsessions  cured 
through  suggestions  in  hypnotic  or  in  waking  states; 
cases  of  cures  by  side-tracking  ideas  into  new  associational 
tracks  through  helpful  autosuggestion  or  reenforcement 
of  opposite  ideas. 

In  the  chapter  on  ** Bodily  Symptoms'*  the  psychologist 
declares  that  in  cases  of  diseased  peripheral  organs  the 
psychophysical  effect  of  mental  treatment  is  far  more 
important  and  more  reliable  than  the  healing  effect. 
Indeed,  it  may  often  happen  that  the  pain  from  a  diseased 
organ  is  removed  by  suggestion  while  the  disease,  though 
apparently  cured,  continues.  Sometimes,  in  his  practical 
experience,  the  psychologist  found  that  while  he  was  cur- 
ing mental  symptoms,  he  had  at  the  same  time  removed 
bodily  pain.  That  a  suggested  feeling  of  improvement  may 
be  an  important  factor  in  healing,  accounts  for  the  quick 
results  in  miracle  cures  and  the  like.  The  effect  of  hypnotic 
and  autosuggestive  influence  is  especially  marked  in  the 
fields  of  seeing  and  hearing..  A  psychophysical  laziness 
in  the  accoustical  center — a  laziness  that  is  itself  often  the 
result  of  autosuggestion — may  be  favorably  affected  by 
countersuggestions.  In  cases  of  hysterical  anaesthesias, 
further,  although  the  organs  remain  unaffected,  neverthe- 
less the  symptoms  may  be  removed,  particularly  by  re- 

394 


APPENDIX 

moving  the  mental  starting  point  that  first  gave  a  shock 
to  the  diseased  system.  Even  a  patient  suffering  from 
paralysis  of  the  arm,  as  the  result  of  a  hemorrhage,  may, 
through  suggestion,  acquire  new  motor  adjustment,  hence 
the  use  of  the  paralized  member.  The  power  of  suggestion 
is  also  strong  in  cases  of  insomnia.  Nervous  troubles  of 
the  stomach,  of  the  heart,  and  anaemia  are  all  open  to 
hypnotic  treatment.  Various  other  diseases,  too,  may  be 
helped  by  hypnotism,  sometimes  in  an  indirect  way  through 
suggestion  of  the  right  diet,  through  aid  in  securing  sleep, 
through  removal  of  pain  by  suggestion,  or  through  the 
elimination  of  worry  or  emotional  shock.  The  same 
results  that  psychotherapy  achieves  have  sometimes  been 
reached  by  Christian  Science  and  other  cures.  But  the 
psychologist  says : 

The  psychotherapeutic  energies  which  work  for  real  health  out- 
side of  the  medical  profession  form  a  stream  of  vast  power,  but 
without  soUd  bed  and  without  dam.  That  stream  when  it  over- 
floods  will  devastate  its  borders  and  destroy  its  bridges.  The 
physicians  are  the  engineers  whose  duty  it  is  to  direct  that  stream 
into  safe  channels,  to  distribute  it  so  that  it  may  work  under  con- 
trol whepever  it  is  needed,  and  to  take  care  that  its  powerful  en- 
ergy is  not  lost  for  suffering  mankind. 

The  third  part  of  the  book,  which  considers  **The  Place 
of  Psychotherapy,"  opens  with  a  chapter  on  ** Psycho- 
therapy and  the  Church,"  a  problem  which,  at  the  time 
when  the  book  appeared,  was  in  the  limelight  of  public  at- 
tention. A  survey  is  given  of  the  role  that  the  power  of 
miraculous  healing  plays  among  primitive  and  half -civil- 
ized peoples  and  throughout  history,  leading  up  to 
the  Society  of  Emmanuel  in  England,  and,  in  America, 
Christian  Science  and  Dr.  Worcester's  ** Emmanuel  Move- 
ment" in  Boston.  This  movement  distinguished  itself  from 
Christian  Science :  for  the  latter  is  based  wholly  on  a  meta- 
physical conception  and  is  not  open  to  the  arguments  of 

395 


APPENDIX 


science;  whereas  the  Emmanuel  movement  represented  a 
cooperation  of  minister  and  physician.     In  former  cen- 
turies, to  be  sure,  the  priest  was  physician  and  teacher  of 
the  community  besides,  but  in  our  time  of  intense  special- 
ization and  the  high  development  of  natural  science,  such 
a  combination  of  functions  is  impossible.    Dr.  Worcester 
accordingly  left  the  examination  of  patients  to  the  phy- 
sician, and  only  those  diseases  that  had  been  pronounced 
functional  and  not  organic  were  accepted  by  the  church 
to  be  healed  through  religious  influence.     Even  with  such 
a  division  of  labor,  there  are  still  grave  dangers.    There 
is  the  possibility  of  a  wrong  diagnosis,  if  the  patient  is 
not  under  constant  observation  of  the  physician.     Fur- 
ther, after  the  patient  has  once  been  given  over  into  the 
hands  of  the  minister,  he  is  deprived  of  the  benefits  of 
physical  treatment,  which  may  be  desirable  along  with  the 
mental  treatment,  even  though  the  disease  is  only  func- 
tional.   Some  ministers  are  even  hostile  to  medical  treat- 
ment in  their  insistence  on  *' non-drug''  healing.     How  can 
the  half-baked  medical  knowledge  of  a  divinity  student 
compare  with  the  thorough  knowledge  of  a  physician  ?     The 
clergyman  cannot  enter  into  the  full  complexity  of  men- 
tal life,  because  his  method  is  wholly  synthetic  and  not 
analytic.    From   a   purely  psychological   point  of  view, 
there  may  be  such  a  thing  as  too  much  religious  fervor  for 
the  health  of  a  patient;  but  it  is  inconceivable  that  a 
clergyman  should  take  such  a  point  of  view.    On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  minister  has  to  resort  to  physical  aids  in  his 
treatment,  as  is  often  the  case,  he  merely  competes  with 
the  physician  who  is  better  equipped.     Then  there  is  the 
other  side  of  the  question.   •  Is  it,  after  all,  desirable  that 
the  Church  take  upon  itself  the  task  of  the  physician?    Is 
not  its  religion  cheapened  by  the  emphasis  on  comfort  and 
health?     In  the  effort  to  abolish  pain,  surely  the  impor- 
tance of  pain  is  given  undue  emphasis.     The  psychologiz- 

396 


APPENDIX 


ing  Church  indeed  shares  its  powers  with  the  primitive 
healers,  for  it  is  not  the  religion,  but  the  psychological  ef- 
fect of  religious  emotion  upon  the  patient,  that  has  the 
healing  value.  Further,  the  division,  accepted  by  Dr. 
Worcester,  of  diseases  into  organic  and  functional  is  an 
inconsistency  of  which  Christian  Science,  which  attributes 
every  ill  to  the  evil  spirit,  is  not  guilty;  for  such  a  divi- 
sion shows  the  intrusion  of  a  scientific  conception  into  the 
religious  sphere  or  rather  a  removal  of  the  whole  problem 
into  the  realm  of  causality.  The  ideal  solution  would  be 
a  cooperation  between  the  minister  and  the  physician,  in 
which  the  minister  would  not  deviate  from  his  strictly  reli- 
gious, purposive  path  and  the  physician  would  apply  the 
tools  of  his  causal  science. 

In  the  chapter  on  ** Psychotherapy  and  the  Physician," 
the  psychologist  points  out  the  long  road  in  history  that 
knowledge  of  mental  influence  over  the  body  has  had  to 
travel  through  mists  of  superstition.  The  simple  explana- 
tion that  mental  symptoms  start  from  the  workings  of 
the  mind  and  not  from  outside  influences  represents  the 
last  word  after  centuries  of  search.  A  historical  survey  is 
given  of  the  field  of  speculation  concerning  influences  on 
the  mind  from  the  earliest  astrological  suppositions  through 
theories  of  magnetic  influence,  culminating  in  the  mesmer- 
ism of  the  eighteenth  century.  Then,  onward  from  Faria's 
significant  discovery,  in  1819,  that  magnetic  influences 
issue  not  from  any  outside  force  but  from  the  patient 
or  subject  himself,  we  are  led  through  the  development 
of  modem  psychological  theories  to  the  most  recent  con- 
tribi<tors  to  the  impressive  fund  of  psychotherapeutic 
knowledge.  The  author  deplores,  however,  that  psycho- 
therapy is  still  confined  to  leaders  in  the  field,  whereas  it 
ought  to  be  used  by  every  physician.  One  reason  for 
this  is  that  *' physicians  do  not  like  to  touch  a  tool  which 
has  been  misused  so  badly.''    They  refrain  from  studies 

397 


APPENDIX 

that  appear  to  them  not  sharply  enough  divided  from  the 
practices  of  spiritists,   clairvoyants,   and  the  like.    But 
the  author  suggests  an  improvement  of  this  condition: 
**The  more  the  true  physicians  undertake  psychothera- 
peutic work,  the  more  it  will  carry  with  it  that  dignity 
which   is  now  too   often  lost  by  the   predominance   of 
those  who   treat  without   diagnosis   and   cure   by   mere 
appeal  to  superstition/'    Another  obstacle  to  the  average 
physician's  use  of  psychotherapy  is  the  great  amount  of 
time  that  such  treatments,  as  for  instance,  psycho-analysis, 
require.    But  the  chief  stumbling-blocks  are,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  physician's  fear  to  tread  in  paths  his  ignorance 
of  psychology  forbids  and,  on  the  other,  this  ignorance 
itself.    It  is  the  author's  conviction  that  psychology  ought 
to  enter  into  every  medical  course.    It  would  be  best  if 
the  future  physician,  in  the  studies  preceding  the  medical 
school  course,  could  lay  a  solid  foundation  in  empirical 
psychology,  then  take  a  more  advanced  theoretical  or  an 
experimental  training  course  and,  if  possible,  do  graduate 
work  in  a  research  laboratory.    In  the  medical  school, 
abnormal  psychology  should  be  studied  by  all  means,  even 
if  the  study  of  psychiatry  is  omitted.    For  psychiatric 
treatment  may  later  be  left  to  the  specialist,  whereas  the 
average  physician  will  be  held  responsible  for  discrimina- 
tion between   such  cases   as  neurasthenia   and  insanity. 
A  physician  untrained  in  psychology  is  not  ready  to  apply 
psychotherapy;  neither  should  a  ** Psychological  Clinic" 
be  managed  by  an  experimental  psychologist  who  is  not 
a  Doctor  of  Medicine.    It  is  the  psychologically  trained 
physician,  and  he  only,  who  should  administer  psycho- 
therapy.    In  the  interest  of  the  community,  psychical  hy- 
giene is  as  important  as  physical  hygiene.    For  social  hy- 
gienic ends,  the  purposive  point  of  view  of  the  educator  and 
the  moralist  should  be  brought  into  harmony  with  the 
causal  view  of  the  scientist.    In  education  the  training  of 

398 


APPENDIX 


the  will  is  more  important  than  the  curing  of  certain  bad 
habits  through  hypnotism;  but  in  cases  of  abnormal  de- 
velopment the  psychotherapist  must  set  in.  In  the  sphere 
of  law  and  order,  the  abnormal  variations  of  minds  that 
lead  to  crimes  are  manifold  within  the  limits  of  health, 
and  no  one  is  born  a  criminal ;  but  where  the  will  is  power- 
less to  overcome  anti-social  tendencies,  the  physician  must 
take  the  place  of  the  criminologist.  Highly  important  for 
the  prevention  of  unsound  developments  are  the  positive 
factors  in  the  community,  such  as  happy  homes,  schools 
that  teach  mental  and  moral  discipline,  inspired  churches, 
firm  laws,  and  the  training  of  emotions  in  childhood 
through  imaginative  play  and  later  through  ennobling  art 
and  literature.  '*A  good  conscience,  a  congenial  home, 
a  serious  purpose  are  the  safest  conditions  for  a  healthy 
mind."  But  for  the  improvement  of  its  mental  life,  the 
community  may  gain  much  help  from  the  psychotherapist. 
The  meaning  of  the  life  of  the  community,  to  be  sure,  musab 
be  found  in  its  ideal  aims  and  purposes.  The  psycho- 
therapist, in  order  to  secure  the  right  service  of  these  aims, 
must  transform  life  into  a  system  of  causes  and  effects. 
**But  even  the  fact  that  he  decides  in  favor  of  those  ends, 
that  he  aims  towards  their  realization,  binds  him  to  a  world 
of  purposes,  and  therefore  he,  too,  with  his  whole  psycho- 
physical work,  stands  with  both  feet  in  a  reality  of  will 
which  is  controlled  not  by  causes,  but  by  purposes,  not  by 
natural  laws  but  by  ideals." 

Psychotherapy,  though  a  continuous  and  thorough  pre- 
sentation of  the  subject,  in  contrast  to  some  of  Miinster- 
berg's  collections  of  light,  popular  essays,  was  nevertheless 
intended  for  a  wide  and  varied  public.  Not  so  The  Eternal 
Values.  It  will  be  remembered  that  his  comprehensive 
philosophical  book  in  the  German  language,  Philosophie 
der  iV-erte,  which  appeared  in  1908,  was  a  .profound  ex- 
position of  his  own  philosophical  system.    The  warmth 

399 


APPENDIX 

with  which  this  was  received  in  circles  far  outside  those 
of  the  technical  philosopher  prompted  Miinsterberg  to  make 
the  ideas  embodied  therein  accessible  to  the  English  read- 
ing public  also.  The  result  is  not  wholly  a  translation, 
for  certain  parts  of  the  German  text  were  omitted,  and 
others  added  in  the  English  version,  particularly  those 
referring  to  recent  American  discussions.  Miinsterberg 
did  not  make  concessions,  however,  to  the  popular  taste, 
but  kept  the  book  on  its  pristine  serious  and  scholarly 
plane.  Nevertheless,  iLe  material  of  the  book  is  not  ab- 
stract speculation,  but  real  life.  **The  discussion  on  truth 
and  beauty,  on  happiness  and  love ;  on  science  and  art,  on 
development  and  progress,  on  industry  and  law,  on  moral- 
ity and  religion,  fills  the  bulk  of  the  book  and  is  not 
at  all  metaphysical.''  Only  the  last  chapter  is  devoted 
to  metaphysical  problems.  However  universal  in  its  sig- 
nificance the  substance  of  the  book  may  be,  the  treatment  is 
systematic  and  scholarly,  and  not  from  the  point  of  view 
of  ''common  sense.''  In  the  Preface  the  author  justifies 
this  method : 

.  .  .  Just  as  the  physicist  must  work  out  his  formulae,  in  a  way 
which  the  average  reader  would  hardly  understand,  before  his 
calculations  can  harness  nature  in  the  service  of  the  millions,  so 
the  philosopher  too  will  build  up  and  reform  and  serve  human 
progress  only  if  he  makes  no  concession  to  ''conunon  sense," 
Common  sense,  with  reference  to  the  problems  of  world  and  life, 
always  means  only  the  echo  of  the  scholarly  philosophy  of  pre- 
ceding centuries.  If  serious,  thorough  thought  has  distilled  some 
truth,  it  will  be  distributed  quickly  enough  through  thousands  of 
popular  channels. 

In  the  Introduction  the  aim  of  the  book  is  given.  It  is 
nothing  less  than  the  logical  justification  of  idealism.  En- 
thusiastic affirmation  is  not  enough;  dispassionate  argu- 
ment is  the  way  of  sober  philosophy.  Our  time  rejects 
the  superficiality  with  which  physical  and  psychological 

400 


APPENDIX 


knowledge  are  raised  to  the  dignity  of  philosophies.  For 
the  study  of  special  facts  does  not  belong  to  the  domain 
of  philosophy.  **The  meaning  of  what  is  valuable  must 
decide  our  view  of  the  world";  hence  it  is  the  task  of 
philosophy  to  understand  the  fundamental  meaning  of 
any  valuation  and  to  examine  in  what  sense  absolute 
valuation  is  possible.  **  Philosophic  theory  of  ^lalues  seeks 
only  what  it  means  to  have  values. ' ' 

The  main  body  of  the  book  is  divided  into  five  parts: 
*'The  Meaning  of  Values,"  ''The  Logical  Values,"  "The 
^Esthetic  Values,"  "The  Ethical  Values,"  and  "Meta- 
physical Values." 

The  philosopher's  search  for  the  existence  of  values  is 
a  search  for  unconditional,  absolute  values.  Relative 
values  exist  obviously — that  is  values  for  single  pe^rsons 
under  special  conditions  or  even  the  social  and  economic 
values  derived  from  those  referring  to  individual  pleasure 
and  displeasure.  But  from  these  conditional  values  there 
is  no  bridge  that  leads  to  the  absolute  values.  The  uncon- 
ditional absolute  values,  that  is,  those  that  are  valid  not 
for  single  individuals  or  groups  of  individuals,  but  for 
all  possible  individuals,  can  be  found  only  in  the  demands 
of  the  will.  The  will  must  not  be  confused  here  with 
desire ;  the  will  is  the  essence  of  every  personality  that  by 
demanding  its  own  fulfillment  asserts  its  share  in  the 
world  and  binds  itself  to  other  wills  and  to  the  totality 
of  wills  that  make  up  the  world.  The  self -asserting  will 
must  demand  that  life,  in  order  to  have  any  value  at  all, 
must  consist  not  of  flashlike  isolated  experiences,  but  of 
a  content  that,  in  ever  new  experience,  remains  identical 
with  itself.  This  identity  in  experience  is  found  in  the 
fulfillment  of  a  three-fold  demand  of  the  will :  the  value  of 
conservation,  the  value  of  agreement,  and  the  value  of 
realization.    In  other  words,  the  wills  for  truth,  beauty 

401 


APPENDIX 

and  morality  are  original  postulates,  and  life,  if  it  is  to 
have  any  value  at  all,  must  consist  of  the  striving  to  ful- 
fill these  demands. 

In  (Sbntemplating  the  logical,  the  aesthetic,  and  the 
ethical  values,  the  philosopher  divides  each  sphere  of  values 
into  naive  or  life-values,  that  is,  values  as  they  are  found 
in  immediate  daily  life,  and  cultural  values  or  those  de- 
manded  in  the  upbuilding  of  civilization.  Further,  the 
values  are  classified  as  belonging  to  the  outer  world,  the 
fellow-world,  or  the  inner  world. 

The  logical  values  in  the  experience  of  naive  life  are 
the  values  of  existence ;  in  the  cultural  realm  they  are  the 
values  of  connection.    The  value  of  existence  adheres  to  a 
thing  that  remains  identical  in  e^er  new  experience  and 
that  may  be  experienced  by  more  than  one,  that  is,  by  all 
possible  individuals.    In  other  words,  only  those  objects 
have  existence  that  may  be  experienced  by  all  possible 
subjects.    Existence,  hpwever,  belongs  not  only  to  objects, 
but  also  to  subjects,  provided  only  that  these  subjects  may 
be  related  to  every  possible  object  and  that  they  maintain 
themselves  through'  ever  new  acts  of  will.    The  existmg 
objects  are  endowed  with  the  forms  of  space  and  time, 
the  existing  subjects  remain  outside  of  space  and  time 
and  assert  themselves  through  interrelation  of  wills.    Not 
only  subjects  and  objects,  but  the  values  themselves  have 
existence  while  they  remain  identical  throughout  changing 
experience  in  the  life  of  reason. 

Whereas  the  values  of  existence  are  demanded  in  im- 
mediate life,  the  values  of  connection  are  demanded  by 
civilization.  In  the  outer  world  the  demand  for  these 
values  has  created  the  system  of  nature— that  unbroken 
chain  of  cause  and  effect  in  which  existing  objects  retain 
their  identity  through  chajige.  Things  in  nature  are 
rethought  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  this  constant 
identity  in  connection;  and  the  things  are  rethought  as 

402 


APPENDIX 


possessing  not  qualities,  but  merely  the  attributes  of  space, 
time,  and  mass. 

In  the  fellow-world,  the  cultural  values  must  also  ful- 
fill the  demand  for  identity  through  connection.  This  is 
found  in  the  interplay  of  fellow-wills  as  it  manifests  it- 
self in  history.  We  find  here  the  connection  of  will  with 
will,  and  the  preservation  of  the  single  will  in  the  net- 
work of  wills. 

In  the  life  of  reason,  even  as  in  the  outer  world  and 
in  the  fellow-world,  the  cultural  values  are  values  of 
connection.  Here  the  value  is  the  unit,  instead  of  the 
object,  as  in  the  outer  world,  and  the  subject,  as  in  the 
fellow-world;  here,  too,  the  single  value  remains  identical 
through  change  in  the  logical,  aesthetic,  ethical,  and  re- 
ligious system  of  values. 

The  demand  for  aesthetic  values,  in  contrast  to  the 
demand  for  logical  values,  is  a  demand  for  values  of  unity 
in  naive  life  and  for  values  of  beauty  in  the  life  of  civiliza- 
tion. In  the  outer  world,  the  values  of  unity  and  of  agree- 
ment are  maintained  by  the  harmonious  landscape  in  which 
line  agrees  with  line  and  every  part  is  an  expression  of 
the  whole.  In  the  fellow-world,  the  values  of  unity  are 
manifested  in  human  sympathy,  in  friendship,  in  love. 
In  the  inner  world,  the  values  of  unity  are  expressed  in 
the  agreement  of  inner  wills  or  in  happiness. 

The  demand  for  the  cultural  value  of  beauty  is  ful- 
filled in  the  outer  world  by  art,  in  the  fellow-world  by 
literature,  in  the  inner  world  by  music.  In  each  of  these 
spheres,  the  work  of  art  is  isolated,  complete  in  itself, 
valuable  not  because  of  its  connection  with  anything  out- 
side of  itself,  but  because  of  the  perfect  unity  of  wills 
within  itself. 

The  ethical  values  in  immediate  life  are  the  values  of 
development ;  the  ethical  values  of  civilization  are  the  values, 
of  achievement.    The  value  of  development  adheres  to 

403 


APPENDIX 

the  process  of  change  from  the  given  to  the  not-given— to 
the  process  itself,  and  not  to  the  resulting  state.  Develop- 
ment ^*is  not  being,  but  becoming/'  This  becoming  de- 
pends  upon  the  will,  and  the  will  is  the  ethical  element. 

In  the  outer  world  or  nature,  development  is  manifest 
as  growth,  in  the  fellow-world  or  society  as  progress,  in 
personality  as  self -development.  The  cultural  values  of 
achievement  are  served  in  the  outer  worid  by  industry,  in 
the  fellow-world  by  law,  in  the  inner  world  by  morality. 
The  philosopher  emphasises  that  the  kind  of  ethics  which 
refers  only  to  the  content  of  will  and  deed  is  still  at  a  pre- 
moral  point.  Real  morality  involves  the  choice  between 
opposite  courses.  The  critical  life-situation  in  which 
values  may  be  either  upbuilt  or  destroyed,  and  either  the 
one  action  or  the  other  must  be  chosen  and  carried  out— 
that  is  the  field  for  morality. 

Finally,  the  threefold  valuation,  the  logical,  aesthetic, 
and  ethical,  would  fill  life  with  ''the  tension  of  .  .  .  oppos- 
ing forces''  in  the  conflict  of  values,  if  they  were  not  some- 
how reconciled  and  harmonized.    Hence  the  demand  for 
the  values  of  completion  or  the  metaphysical  values.    In 
immediate  life-experience  this  unifying  value  is  sought  in 
religion ;  the  conscious  elaboration  of  its  principle  through 
the  effort  of  civilization  is  sought  in  philosophy.    Thus 
both   religion   and  philosophy   *'aim  to   apprehend  the 
worlds  of  values  as  ultimately  identical  with  each  other." 
The  unifying  values  of  religion  and  philosophy,  which 
the  philosopher  calls  the  values  of  holiness  and  the  values 
of  absoluteness,  *' demand  a  progression  over  the  limits 
of  the  experienceable."    This  transcendent  or  over-experi- 
ence has  not  existence  in  the  sense  in  which  subjects  and 
objects  have  existence,  but  it  is  the  content  of  convic- 
tion.   In  religion  the  conviction  that  transcends  experi- 
ence is  belief.    The  complete  harmony  of  values  religion 
creates  is  manifest  in  the  outer  world  by  creation,  in  the 

404 


APPENDIX 


fellow-world  by  revelation,  in  the  inner  world  by  salvation. 

Both  religion  and  philosophy  have  the  same  goal,  but 
the  approach  is  different.  In  philosophy  we  examine,  by 
deliberate,  systematic  thought,  the  inner  conditions  of 
valuation.  A  beyond  of  experience  must  be  postulated  in 
which  all  the  experienceable  values  can  be  unified.  This 
ultimate  fact  is  postulated  not  by  knowledge,  but  by  con- 
viction; moreover,  **the  certainty  of  conviction  is  not 
based  on  logical  knowledge. ' '  The  identity  of  all  the  mutu- 
ally opposing  values  is  reached  by  understanding  all  the 
values  as  expressions  or  realizations  of  a  last  self -asserting 
reality.  This  absolute  is  **the  over-experienceable  in  which 
all  experience  comes  to  completion."  This  over-self  strives 
eternally  to  maintain  its  own  content:  the  fundamental 
reality  is  thus  seen  to  be  a  deed.  As  manifestations  of  the 
eternal  will  the  individual  wills  acquire  their  significance 
and  uniqueness.  On  the  other  hand,  a  conscious  denial 
of  the  values  is  a  rejection  of  the  meaning  of  reality. 
**The  I  which  seeks  only  its  pleasure  is  banished  into 
eternal  solitude."  In  the  eternal  self-realization  *' every 
single  enhancement  of  the  will  is  .  .  .  absolutely  valuable, 
and  nothing  can  be  still  more  valuable  than  that  which 
is  absolutely  valuable." 

A  closer  view  of  The  Eternal  Values  must  be  reserved 
for  the  student;  suffice  it  to  have  given  here  but  a  bare 
outline  of  its  content. 

After  Miinsterberg  had  thus  given  the  world  his  system 
of  philosophy,  his  productivity  did  not  cease.  The  Eternal 
Values  had  appeared  in  the  end  of  May,  1909 ;  in  October, 
1909  appeared  Psychology  and  the  Teacher.  The  book 
was  dedicated  most  aptly  *'To  George  Herbert  Palmer,  In 
Gratitude." 

This  volume,  which  became  and  remained  very  popular, 
will  not  be  examined  in  detail  here.  For  when  once 
his  ultimate  view  of  the  world  has  been  laid  down  in  a 

405 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


4^ 


system  of  reason,  **it  must  follow  as  the  night  the  day" 
that  all  Miinsterberg^s  attitudes  toward  special  phases  of 
social  and  intellectual  life  take  their  direction  and  their 
force  from  this  central  philosophy.  Yet,  though  Psychol- 
ogy and  the  Teacher  is  philosophical  at  the  core,  as  the 
title  suggests,  it  is  also  one  of  the  contributions  to  applied 
psychology. 

In  fact,  the  chief  emphasis  is  laid  on  the  division  of  labor 
between  psychology  and  philosophy  in  the  educational 
field.  The  science  of  education  has  its  own  problems, 
which  belong  only  in  part  to  the  sphere  of  psychology. 
'*  ...  No  knowledge  of  facts  in  the  world  can  ever  tell  ua 
what  we  ought  to  do,  .  .  .  no  science  can  teach  us  what 
our  aim  and  our  duty,  our  purpose,  and  ideal  must  be/' 
It  is  philosophy  which  must  set  the  ideal  for  education, 
which  must  decide  what  ought  to  be  achieved ;  then  psychol- 
ogy may  step  in  and  offer  the  means  to  reach  the  goal. 

The  aim  of  education,  prescribed  by  that  philosophy 
which  has  been  set  forth  in  The  Eternal  Values  is  to  make 
the  pupil  **  willing  and  able  to  help  in  the  realization  of 
ideal  values.''  To  achieve  this  end,  psychology  may  offer 
considerable  help.  Yet  more  is  required  than  the  mere 
textbook  knowledge  of  psychology  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher.  Indeed,  **the  personal  equation''  of  each  mind 
requires  long  series  of  tests  and  observations  that  cannot 
be  carried  out  in  the  classroom,  and  the  teacher  who 
pretends  to  psychological  equipment  can  at  best  make  a 
crude  and  clumsy  use  of  it.  There  is,  therefore,  an 
obvious  need  for  the  science  of  educational  psychology, 
which  concerns  itself  with  the  application  of  psychology  to 
the  special  demands  of  education.  This  new  science 
parallel  to  legal,  medical,  SBsthetic,  and  industrial  psychol- 
ogy was,  at  the  time  of  the  author's  writing,  still  at  the 
beginning ;  yet  its  future  was  unlimited.  Applied  psychol- 
ogy requires  more  than  the  mere  taking  over  of  material 

406 


from  general  theoretical  psychology;  it  must  include  ex- 
periments in  the  service  of  its  special  tasks.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  embedded  in  general  psychology.  In  the  psycholog- 
ical part  of  the  book,  the  author  has  given  in  several 
chapters  psychological  information  that  refers  to  the 
mind  of  the  pupil.  In  the  objective  study  of  the  pupil's 
mind,  the  strictly  biological  view  must  replace  the  philo- 
sophical one  that  has  set  the  aims  of  education.  The 
fundamental  principle  of  the  motor  theory  is  set  forth, 
which  is  of  great  importance  in  educational  psychology. 
Indeed,  from  the  point  of  view  of  causal  psychology,  *  *  the 
pupil  is  a  reaction  apparatus."  Chapters  are  devoted  to 
apperception,  to  memory,  association,  attention,  imitation 
and  suggestion,  will  and  habit,  feeling  and  individual 
differences,  in  their  relations  to  the  problems  of  the 
school. 

Finally,  in  the  ** Educational  Part,"  by  a  combination  of 
ethics  and  psychology,  the  author  has  given  guidance  to 
educators.  In  order  to  realize  the  aim,  set  by  ethics,  of 
making  the  child  able  and  willing  to  realize  ideal  purposes, 
the  child  must  gain  ability  by  acquiring  knowledge  and 
by  training  in  activities;  it  must  also  be  made  willing  by 
being  filled  with  enthusiasm.  Both  knowledge  and  activ- 
ity must  refer  to  the  outer  world  or  nature,  the  fellow- 
world  and  the  self.  The  acquisition  of  knowledge  and  the 
training  in  activity  make  the  pupil  able  to  accomplish 
work  in  later  life  that  will  serve  ideal  ends.  But  the 
most  important  task  of  the  teacher  is  to  inspire  enthusiasm 
for  truth  as  it  manifests  itself  in  the  sciences,  in  history, 
in  the  life  of  reason;  for  ideal  harmony,  which  manifests 
itself  in  the  purest  forms  through  the  fine  arts  in  the 
world  of  things,  literature  in  the  world  of  man,  and  poetry 
and  music  in  the  inner  world;  for  progress  and  for 
loyalty.  Although  philosophy  and  religion  be  absent  from 
the  curriculum,  **yet  there  is  no  school  and  no  teacher  who 

407 


APPENDIX 


can  afford  to  teacli  without  implanting  in  the  young 
souls  a  religious  and  philosophical  longing."  In  giving 
suggestions  for  the  school  curriculum,  the  author  has 
emphasized  the  mujsh  needed  prevention  of  delay  in  the 
school  life  which  ought  to  enable  the  pupil  to  reach  at  fif- 
teen or  sixteen  the  point  genei^lly  reached  at  eighteen 
years  of  age.  The  reasons  for  the  delay  are  lack  of  discip- 
line, unwillingness  to  force  attention,  unequal  preparation 
of  teachers,  ill-adjusted  plans  of  instruction,  dreary  repeti- 
tions, short  school  days  and  years,  and,  a  factor  of  supreme 
importance,  the  school's  lack  of  support  at  home.  Mental 
training  and  formal  knowledge  should  have,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, important  subject  matter,  which  serves  at  the  same 
time  to  inspire  enthusiasm.  On  the  other  hand,  a  cater- 
ing to  the  pupil 's  inclinations  in  the  choice  of  studies  car- 
ries with  it  the  danger  of  superficiality.  Thoroughness  is 
essential  and  **the  child  must  learn  that  great  human  art 
of  providing  interest  out  of  his  own  resources.  .  .  .'* 

The  most  important  factor  of  all,  however,  is  the  teacher. 
The  highest  point  of  effectiveness  is  reached  when  enthusi- 
asm for  teaching  is  combined  with  enthusiasm  for  the  sub- 
ject taught.  Indeed,  the  teacher's  insufficient  preparation 
and  lack  of  thorough  knowledge  are  the  chief  stumbling- 
blocks.  There  has  been  danger  ever  in  the  neglect  of 
knowledge  for  the  technique  of  teaching.  "Fear  prcr 
vailed  that  the  thorough  study  of  methods  might  become 
a  method  of  escaping  thorough  study.''  The  danger  of  a 
haphazard  admixtui-e  of  psychology,  however,  has  decreased 
as  pedagogical  experiments  have  become  organized  and  ap- 
plied educational  psychology  has  become  more  developed. 
Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  psychology  can  help  only 
after  the  aims  of  the  teacher  have  been  determined  by  the 
independent  inquiry  of  the  philosopher.  The  author  ends 
with  the  wish:  ''May  this  book  help  to  bring  us  nearer 
to  the  day  when  such  harmony  of  ethics  and  psychology 

408 


APPENDIX 


becomes  a  living  and  joyful  power  in  the  happy  heart  of 
every  true  teacher!" 

The  three  significant  books  that  appeared  in  1909, 
Psychotherapy,  The  Eternal  Values,  and  Psychology  and 
the  Teacher,  made  each  its  characteristic  impression  upon 
the  reading  public.  The  wide  circulation  of  Psychotherapy 
has  already  been  pointed  out.  Of  course.  The  Eternal 
Values,  althpugh  it,  too,  was  read  widely  outside  of  the 
esoteric  circle  of  philosophers,  nevertheless  roused  a  lively 
response  chiefly  from  scholars.  When  the  most  profound, 
the  ultimate,  problems  have  been  treated,  and  the  most 
serious  convictions  have  been  touched  by  a  book  like  The 
Eternal  Values,  there  will  follow  in  its  wake  enthusiastic 
assent  and  vigorous  opposition.  The  earnest  praise  and 
study  accorded  his  book  both  in  America  and  in  Germany 
Miinsterberg  gladly  acknowledged.  In  the  only  scholarly 
magazine  devoted  to  aesthetics,  there  appeared  this  state- 
ment : 

Rarely  has  any  one  come  so  near  to  the  real  aesthetic  experience 
and  to  the  meaning  of  the  aesthetic  as  Huga  Miinsterberg  in  the 
aesthetic  part  of  his  PhUosophie  der  Werte.  And  this  is  be- 
cause he  boldly  makes  a  sharp  demarcation  line  between  the 
theoretical  and  aesthetic  valuation;  and  he  does  it  so  fully  that 
even  a  psychological  aesthetics  with  its  conceptional  constructions 
vanishes  like  a  world  of  ghosts  when  seen  from  the  standpoint 
of  such  really  living  valuation. 

The  opponents  of  Miinsterberg 's  philosophical  system 
ranged  from  his  friend  William  James,  the  pragmatist, 
and  Professor  W.  M.  Urban  of  Trinity  College,  Hartford, 
whose  realistic  book  Valuation,  its  Nature  and  Laws,  ap- 
peared in  the  same  week  wifh  The  Eternal  Values,  to 
those  who  substituted  caricature  for  serious  discussion, 
chief  among  these  G.  E.  Moore  of  London-.  In  reply  to 
his  serious  critics,  Miinsterberg  wrote  a  short  article  that 
filled  the  October  number  .of-  the  Psychological  Bulletin, 

409 


APPENDIX 

in  1909,  called  the  *' Opponents  of  Eternal  Valuea/'  in 
which  he  elucidated  those  points  in  his  philosophy  upon 
which  disagreements  seemed  to  converge. 

Two  letters  from  the  household  of  Harvard  represent 
not  indeed  the  critical  response  to  the  publication  of  The 
Eternal  Values  but  its  reception  by  those  who  had  a 
warm  interest  in  the  philosopher  himself  and  had  watched 
his  development. 

Thus  wrote  the  fellow  philosopher ; 

Dear  Professor  Munsterberg: 

I  can  acknowledge  at  once  your  beautiful  and  generous 
gift  because  I  have  already  read  it  in  the  German,  and  know  how 
profound  it  is  and  of  what  special  importance  for  my  own  part 
of  Philosophy.  I  am  glad  you  have  brought  it  over  into  English, 
into  your  own  admirable  Englislk  Not  only  will  more  Americans 
be  able  to  get  at  it,  but  even  those  who  can  make  it  out  in  Ger- 
man will  assimilate  its  teachings  better  in  their  own  tongue. 
And  I  am  mistaken  if  it  does  not  find  as  many  readers  in  this 
country  as  in  Germany. 

Gratefully  yours, 

G..  H.  Palmer 


May  20,  1909 

Miinsterberg  had  made  a  special  effort  to  complete 
The  Eternal  Values,  the  final  embodiment  of  the  philosophy 
that  he  was  sending  out  into  the  world  with  a  Harvard 
stamp,  in  time  to  present  it  to  Harvard's  great  President 
before  he  left  the  University  that  oWed  to  him  its  great- 
ness.    The  parting  gift  was  acknowledged  thus: 

May  22,  1909. 
Dear  Dr.  Munstehbero: 

I  shall  value  highly  the  copies  of  your  works  which  have  ap- 
peared since  you  became  Professor  in  Harvard  University — all 
of  which  you  have  been  good  enough  to  send  me — and  particularly 
this  last  volume  on  Eferrud  Values  which  came  to  me  on  May  18. 
I  believe  that  I  told  you  some  years  ago  that  it  was  Professor 

410 


APPENDIX 

William  James  who  first  brought  your  name  to  my  attention 
as  that  of  a  young  experimental  psychologist  whom  it  would  be 
well  to  invite  to  Harvard  University.  Doubtless  you  knew  this 
fact  at  the  time;  but  now  that  I  am  retiring  from  office  I  feel 
like  giving  you  this  assurance  myself.  Professor  James  in  the 
earlier  part  of  his  career  was  very  much  interested  in  physiology 
as  well  as  psychology,  and  had  a  firm  belief  that  psychology  could 
be  greatly  furthered  by  making  use  of  experimental  laboratory 
methods  with  physical  apparatus.  It  was  through  him  that  the 
authorities  of  Harvard  became  interested  in  experimental  psy- 
chology. Professor  James,  however,  wished  to  be  wholly  re- 
lieved of  responsibility  for  an  experimental  laboratory  that  he 
might  devote  himself  to  the  theoretical  aspects  of  the  subject; 
and  I  have  been  much  interested  to  see  in  you  a  similar  tendency. 
Perhaps  this  is  an  inevitable  effect  of  advancing  age  in  a  phil- 
osopher. 

Wishing  you  a  secure  and  tranquil  life  with  durable  satisfac- 
tions and  contentment,  I  am 

Sincerely  yours, 

Charles  W.  Eliot 

As  for  Psychology  and  the  Teacher,  which  was  ad- 
dressed less  to  technical  philosophers  than  to  educators 
and  those  of  the  general  public  who  had  the  problems 
of  education  at  heart,  this  book  won  a  popularity  second 
only  to  that  of  Psychotherapy ,  and,  it  may  be  said, 
a  more  lasting  one.  Translated  into  Spanish,  it  has 
awakened  a  peculiar  response  to  this  very  day,  not  only 
in  Spain  but  among  Spanish-speaking  peoples  elsewhere. 
The  mission  of  the  book  has  been  designated  by  one  of 
the  greatest  educators  of  America  in  a  letter  to  the  author 
on  January  4,  1910: 

Professor  Hugo  Munsterberg, 

Cambridge,  Mass. 
My  dear  Professor  Munsterberg, 

In  consequence  of  a  long  absence  from  home  and  of  almost  con- 
stant labor  on  arrears  of  work  since  my  return  I  have  only  very 
recently  been  able  to  take  up  your  book  on  Psychology  and  the 
Teacher,  which  you  have  so  kindly  sent  me. 

411 


APPENDIX 

And  in  taking  it  up  I  have  only  had  time,  as  yet,  to  run 
rapidly  through  it,  but  I  have  lingered  upon  many  of  its  pages 
and  found  so  much  that  has  deeply  interested  me  that  I  cannot 
resist  the  impulse  to  thank  you  for  the  profit  and  pleasure  you 
have  already  given  me  and  for  that  which  I  shall  derive  from 
the  more  careful  reading  which  I  purpose  to  give  the  whole  dur- 
ing the  winter  evenings  which  are  approaching. 

It  seems  to  me,  from  first  to  last,  an  admirable  treatment  of 
the  great  subject  concerned  and  it  will,  I  fully  believe,  exercise 
a  powerful  influence  for  good  upon  thoughtful  men  and  women 
in  the  great  army  of  teachers  throughout  our  country. 
With  renewed  thanks, 

I  remain,  my  dear  Professor, 

Very  sincerely  yours. 

And.  D.  White 

William  James'  response  to  Psychology  and  the  Teacher 
was  characteristic  : 

Cambridoe,  January  Isty  1910. 
Dear  Munsterberg  : 

I  have  to  thank  vou  for  the  book  on  Education,  which 
I  was  just  about  to  buy,  but  of  which  I  have  as  yet  read  only 
the  last  part,  which  seems  to  me  very  sensible  and  useful.  (This 
must  not  be  understood,  however,  to  commit  me  to  "absolute 
values"  in  any  but  a  pedagogical  sense!!)  I  hope  your  whole 
family  is  in  better  health  than  mine.  I  wish  Mrs.  M.  and  the 
girls  as  good  things  for  1910  and  am 

Very  truly  yours, 

Wm.  James 

Miinsterberg's  creative  powers  were  not  exhausted  by 
the  three  large  books  of  1909.  A  number  of  essays,  most 
of  them  written  in  M^^ch  and  April  or  in  August,  found 
their  way  into  various  magazines.  In  compliance  with  a 
request,  Miinsterberg  wrote,  as  an  introduction  to  a  general 
history  of  science,  an  essay  *  *  Psychology  and  Philosophy.  * ' 
In  the  Philosophical  Review  appeared  the  scholarly 
treatise  on  **The  Problem  of  Beauty.*'  The  more  popular 
essays  were  later  collected  and  published  in  April,  1910, 

412 


APPENDIX 

in  a  book  called  American  Problems  from  the  Point  of 
View  of  the  Psychologist,  The  first  of  these  essays  is 
**The  Fear  of  Nerves.''  It  is  directed  against  the  ten- 
dency of  our  time  to  believe  in  general  nervousness.  This 
belief,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  an  illusion,  for  the  technical 
improvements  of  our  day  tend  rather  to  make  life  smoother 
than  in  the  days  of  our  grandfathers  and  the  excitements 
to  which  nerves  are  subjected  are  relative  anyhow. 
Further,  the  increased  recognition  of  nervous  cases  does 
not  mean  an  increase  of  cases;  the  contemplation  of 
imagined  symptoms,  on  the  other  hand,  may  actually  bring 
about  disease.  The  author  warns  against  the  overestima- 
tion  of  physical  exercise  for  recreation,  against  the  lack 
of  self-control,  which  is  often  mistaken  for  nervousness 
and  is  caused  by  lack  of  discipline  in  the  school.  **The 
schoolteacher  is  more  important  for  curing  the  nervous- 
ness of  our  time  than  the  physician."  This  essay  called 
forth  the  following  response  from  William  James: 

Cambbidoe,  Aug.  27, 
Dear  Munsterberg: 

I  have  inscribed  a  sentiment  and  mailed  it  to  .  .  . 

I  have  also  read  with  great  approval  and  admiration  for  the  way 
of  putting  it,  your  article  "Nerves."  It  is  a  most  timely  warning, 
and  will  make  lots  of  people  sit  up  and  say  "of  course ! !"  It  will 
make  a  big  stir.    I  think  it  a  splendid  article. 

Hoping  that  you  are  all  well  and  having  less  dust,  drought  and 
caterpillars  than  Chocorua  treats  us  to,  I  am,  ever  truly  yours, 

Wm.  James 


((I 


it 


The  Choice  of  a  Vocation"  appeared  under  the  title 
Finding  a  Life  Work"  in  McClure's  Magazine  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1910.  This  article  was  the  forerunner  of  work 
in  the  field  of  vocational  guidance  to  which  Miinsterberg 
was  yet  to  give  more  detailed  attention.  Here  the  author 
deplores  the  haphazard  drifting  into  work  and  shifting 
from  one  kind  of  employment  to  another.  He  warmly 
commends  the  activities  of  Professor  Parsons  who  intro- 

413 


APPENDIX 


duced  the  idea  of  vocation  bureaus.  Yet  his  hope  for 
these  bureaus  rests  with  the  application  of  psychological 
methods,  of  tests  by  which,  with  simple  equipment,  the 
various  types  of  attention,  memory,  rapidity  of  reaction, 
etc.  may  be  examined  accurately  and  far  better  than  by 
self -analysis  or  the  judgment  of  a  layman.  The  ideal  set 
by  the  author  is  the  institution  of  psychological  labora- 
tories as  part  of  municipal  vocation  bureaus. 

**The  Standing  of  Scholarship,''  which  first  appeared 
in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  of  October,  1909,  presents  a  grave 
problem  that  Miinsterberg  had  much  at  heart.  It  seems 
to  the  author  that  the  decisive  factor  in  the  disappointing 
results  of  present-day  education  is  the  comparatively  low 
standing  of  scholarship  in  the  social  world  outside  of 
the  college.  The  average  American  college  man's  pride 
is  in  the  graduates  of  his  college,  that  of  the  European 
university  man  in  the  scholars  of  his  Alma  Mater.  The 
standing  of  an  American  professor  is  judged  often  by 
the  administrative  positions  he  holds  in  his  university 
or  by  some  independent  popular  reputation  that  he  has 
won,  not  by  the  intrinsic  quality  of  his  scholarship.  Con- 
tribution to  scholarship  appeals  only  to  a  limited  circle 
of  colleagues  and  is  not  rewarded  by  any  outward  sign 
of  recognition.  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  most 
talented  and  enterprising  young  men  should  turn  to  busi- 
ness, industry,  law,  and  medicine  and  leave  the  graduate 
school  to  men  who,  as  an  average,  are  second-class  in 
energy  and  ambition.  The  philosopher  finds  the  root  of 
this  evil  in  the  positivistic  view  of  life  which,  in  its  concern 
for  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  greatest  number,  supports 
the  dissemination  of  knowledge,  but  not  the  advancement 
of  scholarship  for  its  ideal  value.  Yet  the  author  ob- 
serves symptoms  of  the  rise  of  idealism  in  America;  and 
upon  this  he  plants  his  hope  for  reviving  changes  in  the 
school,  college,  and  vocational  life  of  the  country. 

414 


APPENDIX 


The  article  on  ''Prohibition  and  Temperance*'  need  not 
be  considered  here,  since  it  has  been  given  ample  attention 
in  another  chapter.  An  epilogue  had  been  added  to  the 
original  argument,  in  view  of  the  heated  discussion  of 
this  firebrand  topic. 

'*The  Intemperance  of  Women,"  written  in  a  light, 
humorous  vein  for  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  sets  over 
against  the  intemperance  of  men  in  the  consumption  of 
alcohol,  the  intemperance,  unrecognized  as  such,  of  rest- 
less, fashion-chasing,  candy-eating  women,  as  seen  with 
the  eyes  of  the  psychologist.  This  widely  read  and  enter- 
taining essay  found  praise  from  an  unexpected  quarter. 
The  famous  Evangelist  Billy  Sunday  wrote: 

1002  South  Seventh  Street, 
Springfield,  III.,  March  2,  1909, 
My  dear  Professor: 

I  have  read  with  unspeakable  dehght  and  profit  your 
magnificent  article  in  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  entitled  ''In- 
temperance  among  Women"  and  coming  from  a  man  of  your  un- 
questioned and  universally  acknowledged  authority  it  will  have 
untold  weight  for  good. 

I  have  felt  constrained  to  write  you  for  another  reason,  and  that 
is,  the  young  man  who  had  been  my  assistant  in  evangelistic  work 
for  the  past  two  years.  Rev.  C.  P.  Pledger,  was  a  student  at  Har- 
vard, and  often  spoke  of  you,  your  winning  personality  and  your 
encouraging  words  to  the  student  body;  and  that  of  all  the  fac- 
ulty, he  derived  no  greater  benefit  than  through  the  instruction 
received  from  you.  He  found  it  of  great  value  in  his  work  in 
preaching  the  gospel.  It  grieves  me  to  inform  you  that  Mr. 
Pledger  died  of  pneumonia  in  Spokane,  Wash.,  February  12th, 
just  after  the  close  of  our  campaign  there. 

I  would  like  the  privilege  of  quoting  a  portion  of  your  article 
in  some  of  my  sermons,  for  everywhere  men  of  letters  and 
knowledge  take  their  hats  off  to  Professor  Miinsterberg. 

With  assurance  of  my  high  esteem  and  best  wishes  for  a  long 
and  happy  life,  I  am, 

Cordially  yours, 
W.  A.  Sunday 
415 


APPENDIX 


The  substance  of  the  sprightly  essay,  **My  Friends, 
the  Spiritualists,''  which  appeared  in  the  Metropolitan 
Magazine  in  February,  1910,  has  been  made  familiar  in 
another  place,  and  may  therefore  be  passed  over  here. 
**The  Market  and  Psychology,*'  which  first  appeared  in 
McClure's  Magazine  in  November,  1909,  heralded  that 
new  activity  in  the  field  of  applied  psychology  for  which 
Miinsterberg  a  few  years  later  won  special  renown  with 
his  books  on  psychology  applied  to  industry.  In  this 
article  the  author  points  out  the  enormous  importance 
of  testing  the  employees  of  steamship  and  railway  com- 
panies by  psychological  methods,  for  color  blindness,  for 
the  rapidity  and  accuracy  of  perceptions  and  the  like, 
so  that  accidents  may  be  prevented.  But  even  where  there 
is  no  danger  of  accidents,  misfits  and  efficiency  may  be 
avoided  by  testing  the  types  of  mental  equipment  of 
telegraphers,  of  factory  workers,  of  mechanics,  in  fact,  of 
all  workers  in  industry.  Also  advertising  and  salesman- 
ship may  profit  from  psychological  advice.  Chance  tradi- 
tions and  superficial  ideas  may  establish  harmful  methods. 
As  psychology  applied  at  random  from  textbooks,  how- 
ever, is  liable  to  be  applied  wrongly,  special  laboratories 
for  applied  psychology  should  be  established,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  in  the  future  the  Department  of  Commerce 
and  Labor  may  found  experimental  stations  for  the  ap- 
plication of  psychology  to  industry. 

** Books  and  Bookstores,"  which  first  appeared  in  the 
Atlantic  Monthly  under  the  title  **The  Disorganization 
of  the  Book  Trade,"  is  a  plea  for  the  live,  well  equipped 
bookstore  that  is  fast  disappearing.  The  author  deplores 
the  fact  that  books,  which  might  be  circulated  through 
bookstores  where  readers  can  quietly  choose  the  volumes 
that  appeal  to  them,  should  depend  on  publishers'  ad- 
vertisements, a  fact  that  makes  it  hazardous  to  publish 
a    book    that    cannot    be    expensively    advertised.    The 

416 


APPENDIX 


American  publishers'  opposition  to  new  editions  because 
books  are  printed  from  plates  that  cannot  well  be  changed, 
is  a  further  obstacle  to  the  continued  life  of  a  book.  In 
the  author's  opinion,  *'the  reader  without  a  bookstore 
becomes  uncritical."  Therefore  it  seems  to  him  desirable 
that  a  publishers'  association  should  prevent  the  selling 
of  books  except  through  bookstores  at  fixed  prices,  and 
that  publishers  should  create  and  finance  bookstores  in 
their  own  interest  and  for  the  ultimate  benefit  of  the  in- 
telligent public. 

The  last  essay  of  the  book,  *'The  World  Language,"  is 
full  of  charm  and  delicate  irony.  It  is  a  response  to 
the  invitation  of  the  Simplified  Spelling  Board  to  criti- 
cize its  improvement  of  the  English  language,  which  the 
Board  believes  will  become  the  world  language  when 
once  the  obstacles  of  the  difficult  spelling  have  been 
removed.  Miinsterberg  objects  to  the  declaration  that 
simplified  spelling  will  make  English  more  easily  ac- 
quired by  the  foreign  child.  It  is  not  uniformity,  but  the 
odd  characteristics  of  a  word  that  make  it  linger  in 
the  memory,  and  the  removal  of  such  characteristics  makes 
learning  more  difficult.  Further,  the  inner  relation  of 
words,  as  expressed  by  such  conjugated  endings  as  '*ed" 
in  '* blessed,"  would  be  lost  through  artificial  uniformity. 
The  other  claim  of  the  Board  that  if  the  difficulties  of 
spelling  were  remqved,  the  American  school  child  would  be 
less  backward  in  its  studies,  the  author  answers  with  the 
query  whether  inaccuracy  in  arithmetic,  too,  would  be 
cured  by  simplified  spelling.  It  is  mental  discipline  in 
the  schools,  not  spelling  reforms,  that  is  needed.  Then 
he  makes  a  plea  for  the  enrichment  of  language  given  by 
that  historical  flavor  that  clings  to  the  traditional  spelling 
forms.  **Our  simplifiers  want  us  to  write  good-by;  but 
when  the  last  good-bye  has  been  spoken,  will  the  simpler 
form  still  bring  to  our  imagination  the  suggestion  of  *  God 

417 


APPENDIX 

be  with  yout'  "  The  hope  of  the  board  that  English  shall 
become  the  world  language,  Miinsterberg  considers  illu- 
sory. He  points  out  the  fallacy  of  any  world  language, 
like  Esperanto,  which  was  concocted  from  the  French 
and  Spanish  and  which  would  naturally  be  pronounced 
quite  differently  in  Nebraska  and  in  Roumania  and  would 
remain  unintelligible  to  natives  of  different  lands.  But 
the  claim  of  one  living  language  to  dominate  could  never  be 
realized  because  the  self -consciousness  of  the  other  nations 
would  never  allow  it.  **The  times  of  long  ago,  when  the 
scholarly  men,  at  least,  ell  spoke  and  wrote  in  Latin, 
cannot  come  back.  There  is  to-day  only  one  international 
language  necessary  and  possible;  the  language  of  good- 
will and  peace  and  international  friendship  with  the 
serious  effort  to  understand  the  motives  of  our  national 
neighbors  and  to  respect  their  efforts.**  And  there  is 
no  better  way  to  international  understanding  than  to 
study  sympathetically  the  living  languages  of  other  coun- 
tries. **What  is  gained  by  an  international  word  code 
which  aids  congresses  and  travelers  and  commercial  clerks, 
if  it  decreases  the  number  of  those  who  can  enjoy  the  lan- 
guage of  Shakespeare  and  Goethe  and  Moliere  and  Dante?*' 
Of  another  popular  book,  Vocation  and  Learning,  which 
Miinsterberg  wrote  between  November  1st  and  December 
27th,  1909,  account  will  be  given  in  another  chapter. 
Suffice  it  to  have  looked  over  Psychotherapy,  The  Eternal 
Values,  Psychology  and  the  Teacher,  and  American 
Problems,  all  belonging  to  the  year  1909;  for  indeed,  the 
harvest  was  plentiful. 

CHAPTER  XII 


The  year  1911-1912  did  not  fall  behind  the  others  in 
productivity.  As  the  new  and  keen  interest  in  applied 
psychology  lent  its  peculiar  coloring  to  the  research  work 

418 


APPENDIX 


of  this  period,  so  also  Miinsterberg 's  literary  work  was 
largely  concerned  with  the  new  science.  The  book  on  ap- 
plied psychology  on  which  he  worked  this  year,  did  not, 
however,  satisfy  him.  He  did  not  publish  it,  therefore,  but 
used  the  material  contained  in  it  for  several  other  books : 
the  German  Psychologic  und  Wirtschaftslehen  and  its 
English  equivalent.  Psychology  and  Industrial  Efficiency, 
and  later  the  more  comprehensive  German  Psychotechnik 
and  the  complete  English  textbook  Psychology:  General 
and  Applied,  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  short, 
concentrated  period  in  which  Miinsterberg  dictated 
Psychologic  und  Wirtschaftslehen  in  the  early  summer  in 
Berlin.    The  book  appeared  in  the  fall  of  1912. 

A  large  number  of  essays,  both  English  and  German, 
from  Miinsterberg 's  pen— or  rather  from  his  lips,  for  he 
dictated  all  his  work — appeared  in  this  period.  Striking 
among  these  was  a  short  essay,  ** Better  than  Arbitration,*' 
which  was  printed  in  the  International  in  March,  1912. 
Here  Miinsterberg  gave  pithy  utterance  once  more  to  his 
conviction  that  mutual  sympathetic  understanding  and 
cooperation  between  countries  are  more  vital  means  of 
preventing  war  than  the  establishment  of  a  court  of  ar- 
bitration. **  Truly  to-day  it  seems  more  important  to 
prevent  the  falsehoods  which  awaken  ill  feelings  and  mad 
prejudices  than  to  prevent  the  final  outbreak  when  the 
feelings  and  fears  become  intolerable.  Whatever  arbi- 
tration may  be  able  to  do  when  war  is  threatening,  it  is 
better  to  prevent  the  hatred  and  the  rage  without  which 
no  war  is  possible.'*  For  the  ** poisoning  of  the  wells" 
of  international  sympathy  Miinsterberg  blamed  first  the 
malicious  humorists.  **  Instead  of  throwing  poison  into 
the  wells,  some  pour  into  them  befuddling  beverages  until 
every  one  who  drinks  from  them  grins  and  grins  and  has 
a  funny  feeling  of  self-importance,  and  sees  the  other 
nation  as  a  laughable   and   half  contemptible  mass  of 

419 


APPENDIX 

fools.''  Next  he  blamed  the  anonymous  newspaper  re- 
porters who  **  supply  some  acid  of  their  own  making  to 
these  public  fountains."  But  the  author  put  the  most 
blame  on  those  who  profess  to  have  confidential  informa- 
tion and  subtly  poison  the  believing  public  with  false- 
hoods or  distortions.  It  was  his  most  earnest  hope,  there- 
fore, that  the  poisoning  of  the  wells  be  forbidden  **in 
times  of  peace  also  and  not  only  in  the  midst  of  war." 

Although  the  volume  American  Pdtriotism  did  not  ap- 
pear until  1913,  published  by  Moffat  Yard,  New  York, 
and  by  Fisher  Unwin  in  England  under  the  title  Social 
Studies  of  the  Day,  it  will  be  considered  at  this  point 
because  most  of  the  essays  it  embodies  appeared  in  1911 
and  1912  or  even  earlier.  The  essay  that  gives  the  book 
its  title,  American  Patriotism,  appeared  in  the  Saturday 
Evening  Post  in  February,  1912. 

Here  Miinsterberg  presented  his  conception  of  all  Europe 
as  the  mother  country  of  America. 

The  American  nation  is  an  entirely  new  people  which,  like  all 
the  other  great  nations  of  the  world,  has  arisen  from  a  mixture  of 
races  and  from  a  blending  of  nationalities.  The  ties  of  kinship 
do  not  connect  it  with  England  more  than  with  Ireland  or  Hol- 
land or  Germany  or  Sweden.  All  these  races  are  united  and  as- 
similated here — not  by  a  common  racial  origin,  but  by  a  com- 
mon national  task.  They  must  work  out  in  unity  the  destiny  of 
a  nation  to  which  all  the  leading  countries  of  Europe  have  con- 
tributed their  particular  traits  and  ideals.  A  new  patriotism  has 
sprung  up  that  does  not  aim  toward  the  conservation  of  an  Eng- 
lish people,  but  hopes  for  the  highest  development  of  a  unique 
nation  in  which  the  finest  qualities  of  all  Europe  will  be  blended. 

And  the  essay  ends  with  words: 

True  patriotism  cannot  demand  that  the  American  people  draw 
apart  and  fall  asunder  when  their  hearts  turn  lovingly  to  their 
ancestral  homes.  There  ought  not  to  be  civil  war  on  the  battle- 
fields of  European  memories. 

420 


APPENDIX 

The  second  essay,  "The  Educational  Unrest"  appeared 
in  the  Metropolitan  Magazine  in  July,  1910.  Here  the 
author  pointed  out  the  needs  and  defects  of  American 
school  life  and  more  especially  that  of  the  university,  for  he 
realized  that  the  entire  educational  life  of  a  country  was 
determined  by  the  quality  of  its  highest  institutions. 

The  next  essay,  **The  Case  of  the  Reporter"  appeared 
in  McClure's  Magazine  in  February,  1911.  It  is  an  ex- 
position of  the  sensational  and  distorting  methods  of  the 
news  service  with  many  amusing  accounts  of  the  author's 
own  experiences  with  reporters. 

''Germany  of  To-day"  appeared  under  the  title  *'The 
New  Germany"  in  the  North  American  Review  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1912.  It  is  a  presentation  of  various  currents  and 
cross-currents  in  modem  German  life,  based  on  Miinster- 
berg *s  own  observations  during  his  year  in  Berlin.  Two 
more  essays  in  this  volume  containing  observations  on 
German  life  are  ''The  German  Woman"  and  "The  Germans 
at  School,"  which  appeared  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly 
in  December,  1911. 

The  paper  on  "Coeducation"  came  out  under  the  title 
"Bi-education  vs.  Coeducation"  in  the  Ladies'  Home 
Journal  in  May,  1911.  Miinsterberg  was  always  an  en- 
thusiastic believer  in  woman's  work  in  all  fields  of  art, 
science,  and  education;  he  also  believed  coeducation  to  be 
the  only  wise  and  expedient  method  in  professional  train- 
ing or  the  advanced  work  of  graduate  students.  It  was 
for  schools  and  colleges,  however,  that  he  believed  in  bi- 
education.    In  his  own  words: 

And  if  I  recall  the  long  line  of  women  who  took  their  psycho- 
logical doctor's  degree  after  years  of  such  coeducational  studies 
under  my  charge,  I  hardly  think  they  can  be  equaled.  There 
were  Maiy  Whiton  Calkins,  whose  psychological  contributions 
have  made  a  decided  impression  on  the  development  of  psychol- 
ogy; Ethel  Puffer,  whose  Psychology  of  Beauty  stands  foremost 

421 


APPENDIX 

in  American  ©sthetics;  Eleanor  Rowland,  whose  Bight  to  Believe 
is  a  little  masterpiece  of  philosophical  discu^ion,  and  many  others. 
I  hope  many  still  will  follow  and  every  one  will  be  most  welcome 
in  our  company  of  men  scholars.  Nevertheless  I  profess  my  be- 
lief that  the  high  schools  and  above  all  the  collies  ought  not  to 
be  coeducational,  and  that  coeducation  ought  not  to  begin  below 
the  level  of  graduate  work. 

For  this  belief  several  arguments  are  advanced,  chief 
among  them  the  desirability  of  recognizing  not,  by  any 
means,  a  superiority  of  boys'  intellects  over  girls*  or  vice 
versa,  but  of  given  characteristic  differences  of  mental 
behavior. 

We  know  to-day  that  the  thought  and  the  imagination,  the 
memory  and  the  attention  of  the  boys  and  girls  are  characteristi- 
cally different,  we  know  that  the  whole  rhythm  of  development 
is  unlike  and  that  on  the  higher  levels  their  tendency  to  concen- 
tration, to  suggestibility,  to  mental  resistance,  to  productiveness, 
to  emotion,  and  to  will  action  shows  important  differences.  It 
is  entirely  meaningless  to  say  that  the  one  is  more  excellent  than 
the  other,  but  it  is  very  clear  that  to  force  both  to  the  same  work 
in  the  same  rhythm  must  be  a  handicap  for  both. 

Indeed,  Munsterberg  in  public  as  well  as  private  life 
could  not  emphasize  enough  the  value  of  fine  differentia- 
tion as  opposed  to  a  thoughtless  uniformity.  And  he  ends 
the  essay  thus: 

To  make  society  uniform  is  always  moving  downward.  The 
recognition  of  the  different  aims  and  duties  of  the  different 
types  of  intellect  and  of  emotion,  of  the  different  rhythms  of 
development  and  of  the  different  predominant  interests  must  be 
to-day  the  most  important  demand  in  American  education.  Thus 
true  progress  can  be  secured  only  through  bi-educational  work. 

**The  Household  Sciences,"  which  first  appeared  as  *'The 
College  and  the  Household  Sciences''  in  the  magazine 
Good  Housekeeping  in  January,  1913,  is  the  presentation 

422 


APPENDIX 


of  another  educational  problem.  It  is  a  plea  for  the  in- 
cluding of  a  ** scholarly  study  of  household  management" 
in  the  curriculum  of  a  girls'  college.  This  was  not  to 
be  in  the  nature  of  technical  training,  hiit  a  cultural 
illumination  of  domestic  problems.  **The  college  is  no 
place  to  learn  cooking  and  mending,  but  what  the  true 
studies  in  domestic  science  offer  with  their  wealth  of 
historical,  sociological,  biological,  chemical,  aesthetic,  and 
economical  information,  is  endlessly  better  and  it  ought 
not  to  be  missed  in  any  woman's  college  which  aims  to- 
ward real  culture."  Indeed  it  is  the  purpose  of  culture 
to  make  one  **see  nothing  in  isolation,  but  everything 
against  the  background  of  the  natural  laws  and  of  the 
history  of  civilization :  this  characterizes  the  truly  educated, 
as  it  makes  him  able  to  see  foreground  and  background 
in  their  true  proportions." 

The  last  article  in  the  book,  ** Psychology  and  the  Navy," 
which  embodied  Miinsterberg's  address  before  the  Naval 
War  College  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  and  then  appeared  in  the 
North  American  Review,  has  already  been  extensively 
quoted.    It  closed  the  volume  called  American  Patriotism, 

The  press  comments  which  the  book  excited,  some  of 
which  appeared  in  Englanid,  showed  especially  careful  and 
serious  authorship.  The  English  reaction  on  a  book  ad- 
dressed to  Americans  is  naturally  different  from  that  of 
the  public  addressed,  and  is  therefore  of  some  interest  on 
account  of  its  detachment  from  the  subject  matter.  The 
Saturday  Review  said: 

Professor  Munsterberg  is  one  of  the  few  men  of  ability  and 
wide  views  resident  in  the  United  States  who  have  the  courage  or 
take  the  trouble  to  tell  their  countrymen  the  truth.  He  also  em- 
plo3rs  a  sound  and  attractive  style,  and  his  book  makes  good  read- 
ing for  Europeans  no  less  than  Americans.  He  has  a  good  deal 
to  say  about  modem  Germany  which  we  can  read  in  fingland 
with  signal  profit.  .  .  . 

423 


APPENDIX 


And  the  Westminster  Gazette: 

If  we  can  judge  him  at  all  from  this  collection  of  essays,  Pro- 
fessor Miinsterberg  is  making  rapid  advance  in  the  process  of 
Americanization.  We  do  not  mean  that  he  is  losing  any  of  that 
German  thoroughness  or  solidity  which  characterizes  the  many 
psychological  and  philosophical  studies  of  his  which  have  come 
under  our  notice,  but  we  have  found  in  him  increasing  evidence 
of  a  more  or  less  typical  American  attitude,  which  seems  to  be 
the  outward  expression  of  a  change  or  development  of  character. 
In  effect  he  is  out  to  defend  America  against  the  world,  and  if 
he  is  severe  in  his  criticisms  on  her  institutions,  her  methods  of 
thought,  or  her  journalistic  mannerisms,  we  perfectly  understand 
that  it  is  all  done  for  her  own  good. 

CHAPTER  XIII 

The  period  of  Miinsterberg's  life  reviewed  in  this  chapter, 
bore  a  rich  harvest  of  literature.  Five  books  appeared, 
and  numerous  essays  besides.  The  books  were:  Vocation 
and  Learning,  P&ychology  and  Industrial  Efficiency, 
Psychology  and  Social  Sanity,  GrundzUge  der  Psycho- 
technik,  and  Psychology:  General  and  Applied,  Further, 
he  edited  Volume  III  of  the  Harvard  Psychological  Studies, 
of  which  one  half  was  devoted  to  studies  in  human  psychol- 
ogy and  the  other  half  to  experiments  in  animal  psychology. 
Miinsterberg's  Americans  also  appeared  in  a  new  edition 
for  which  he  wrote  a  preface. 

In  December,  1912,  the  People's  University  published 
Vocation  and  Learning,  a  book  that  Miinsterberg  had 
written  at  its  request.  This  People's  University  was  an 
organization  of  many  thousands  of  members  that  centered 
at  University  City,  St.  Louis,  for  the  purpose  of  spreading 
enthusiasm  for  learning.    Miinsterberg  said  in  the  Preface : 

Its  leaders  pointed  out  to  me  how  much  a  serious  book  on  the 
demands  of  the  vocations  was  needed  as  an  introduction  to  their 
work,  and  they  suggested  that  I  write  it  to  help  the  many  thou- 

424 


APPENDIX 

sand  members  of  their  organization.    The  idea  coincided  so  fully 
with  my  plan  that  I  assented  without  hesitation. 

But  the  book,  thus  written  at  first  for  a  narrower  circle,  needed 
only  a  few  changes  in  order  to  he  adjusted  to  the  wider  public. 
In  this  revised  form  I  send  it  out  into  the  world  to-day,  with  the 
sincere  hope  that  it  may  help  toward  a  fuller  understanding  of 
a  social  problem  in  which  perhaps  all  the  other  problems  of 
society  are  rooted. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that   this  book   presents  a 
psychological  scheme  for  testing  the  fitness  of  individuals 
for  certain   professions,   like   somei   of  the   chapters   in 
Psychology  and  Industrial  Efficiency;  no,  this  little  book 
designed  for  the  general  public,   especially  for  ardent, 
ambitious  young  men  and  women  who  need  guidance  in 
the  choice  of  their  life  work,  is  educational  in  its  purpose 
and  philosophical  in  its  method  and  point  of  view.    As  in 
his  comprehensive  philosophical  book,  The  Eternal  Values, 
Miinsterberg  elaborated  a  system  of  values,  so  here,  in 
a  more  popular  style  and  one  easily  understood  without 
philosophical  training,  he  worked  out  a  methodic  classifi- 
cation of  the  motives,  the  knowledge,  and  the  abilities  re- 
quired for  the  different  vocations,  under  the  large  general 
headings  ''Happiness,"  *' Knowledge,''  **Work,''  ** Voca- 
tion,'' *' Study."    The  philosopher,  moreover,  divided  any 
life  experience  into  three  aspects:  of  knowledge,  of  feel- 
ing interest,  and  will  activity.    From  these  in  turn  he 
developed  the  three  primal  interests  that  are  the  leading 
motives  for  all  vocations :  interest  in  the  knowledge  of  ex- 
perifence,    interest   in   the    fulfillment   of   demands,    and 
interest  in  the  intended  changes  of  experience.    Each  of 
these  three  interests  is  again  minutely  subdivided  so  that 
they  present  complete  systems  of  knowledge,  of  activities, 
of  satisfactions.    This  classification  is  illustrated  by  a  dia- 
gram: a  circle,  which  stands  for  life  experience,  is  con- 

425 


APPENDIX 


'     oVti*"- 


stnicted  within  a  triangle ;  points  of  the  triangle  are  feel- 
ing, thinking,  and  willing;  smaller  triangles  superimposed 
upon  the  three  parts  of  the  circumference  marked  off  by 
the  sides  of  the  larger  triangle,  stand  for  the  three  interests. 
The  systems  of  interest  are  thus  built  upon  the  circle  of 
life  experience,  and  from  each  point  of  the  large  triangle 
the  center  of  the  circle  may  be  reached.  The  classifi- 
cations within  tl\e  angles  of  the  interests  are  again  shown 
by  diagrams.  Further,  there  is  a  diagram  for  every  voca- 
tion, for  that  of  the  farmer,  the  teacher,  the  physician,  etc., 
in  which  the  particular  vocation  is  represented  by  a  small 
triangle  within  the  circle  of  life  experience.  The  system 
of  the  vjocations  in  their  relations  to  thought  and  to  life 
experience  is  followed  by  general  advice  on  the  recognition 
of  dispositions  and  talents  and  on  methods  of  study. 

After  Vocation  and  Learning,  appeared  Psychology  and 
Industrial  Efficiency,  published  by  Houghton,  MifiSin  and 
Company  in  Boston  in  February,  1913.  From  this  book 
such  extensive  quotations  have  already  been  made  to  illu- 
minate Miinsterberg's  experiments  in  applied  psychology 
and  his  contact  with  the  industrial  world  to  which  his  psy- 
chology was  to  be  applied,  that  it  will  not  be  necessary  here 
to  examine  the  book  in  detail..  It  is  a  complete  presenta- 
tion of  Miinsterberg 's  ideas  on  the  application  of  psychol- 
ogy to  problems  of  industrial  life,  and  of  the  experiments 
hitherto  made  in  the  service  of  these  ideas,  as  well  as  of 
the  psychologist's  experience  in  the  realm  of  industry. 
After  an  explanatory  introduction,  the  book  is  divided  into 
three  parts:  **The  Best  Possible  Man,'*  '*The  Best  Possible 
Work,''  and  *'The  Best  Possible  Effect."  The  first  part 
of  the  book  considers  the  demands  made  on  the  minds  and 
the  nervous  systems  of  individuals  by  different  special 
vocations;  the  second  treats  of  problems  of  movement, 
of  monotony,  of  attention,  of  fatigue,  and  so  on;  in  the 
third  part,  psychological  light  is  thrown  on  such  phases  of 

426 


APPENDIX 

business  life  as  the  effects  of  advertisements,  of  window 
display,  of  illegal  imitation,  of  buying  and  selling.  The 
last  chapter,  on  the  ''Future  of  Economic  Psychology," 
ends  with  this  outlook: 

And  if  it  is  true  that  difficulties  and  discomforts  are  to  be 
feared  during  the  transition  period,  they  should  be  more  than 
outweighed  by  the  splendid  betterments  to  be  hoped  for.    We 
must  not  forget  that  the  increase  of  industrial   efficiency  by 
future   psychological   adaptation   and  by   improvement   of  the 
psychophysical  conditions  is  not  only  in  the  interest  of  the  em- 
ployers, but  still  more  of  the  employees;  their  working  time  can 
be  reduced,  their  wages  increased,  their  level  of  life  raised. 
And  above  all,  still  more  important  than  the  naked  commercial 
profit  on  both  sides,  is  the  cultural  gain  which  will  come  to  the 
total  economic  life  of  the  nation,  as  soon  as  every  one  can  be 
brought  to  the  place  where  his  best  energies  may  be  unfolded 
and  his  greatest  personal  satisfaction   secured.     The  economic 
experimental  psychology  offers  no  more  inspiring  idea  than  this 
adjustment  of  work  and  psyche  by  which  mental  dissatisfaction 
in  the  work,  mental  depression,  and  discouragement  may  be  re- 
placed in  our  social  community  by  overflowing  joy  and  perfect 
inner  harmony. 

In  February,  1914,  Miinsterberg's  comprehensive  Ger- 
man  work  on  applied  psychology  appeared  in  Leipzig 
under  the  title  Grundziige  der  Psychotechnik. 

But,  above  all,  the  winter  of  1914  was  significant  as  the 
one  in  which  Miinsterberg  wrote  his  textbook,  which,  to 
be  sure,  is  more  than  a  mere  textbook  for  college  use, 
but  rather  a  systematic  and  at  the  same  time  colorfully 
represented  survey  of  the  wide  field,  Psychology:  General 
and  Applied,  This  book  was  begun  on  January  first, 
the  first  draft  was  finished  on  May  20th,  and  the  volume 
was  on  the  market  in  August. 

Psychology:  General  and  Applied  is  significant  for 
three  reasons.  First,  it  includes  the  whole  field  of  applied 
psychology;  second,  the  survey  contains  social  psychol- 

427 


APPENDIX 


ogy  as  well  as  individual  psychology;  third,  not  only  the 
descriptive  and  explanatory  psychology  is  presented  here, 
but,  for  the  first  time,  that  psychology  of  purpose  which 
had  hitherto  been  little  recognized  and  is  the  psychology 
of  the  future.  As  a  philosopher  of  broad  vision,  Miinster- 
berg  was  especially  called  upon  to  introduce  this  new 
aspect  of  the  science,  and  indeed,  here  the  connection 
of  psychology  with  bidlogy,  usually  emphasized,  is  given 
no  greater  prominence  than  the  intimate  and  fundamental 
relation  of  the  science  of  the  mind  to  philosophy. 

It  must  suffice  here  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the 
contents  of  the  book.  A  philosophical  introduction  pre- 
sents the  two  motives  for  approach  to  the  study  of  the 
mind:  one,  the  intention  to  explain  mental  life,  which, 
in  order  to  be  explained  at  all,  must  be  transformed  into 
an  unbroken  chain  of  causes  and  effects;  the  other,  the 
desire  to  understand  mental  life,  which,  in  order  to  be 
understood,  must  be  considered,  not  as  cause  and  effect, 
but  as  meaning  wills  and  purposes.  The  meeting  point 
of  these  two  aspects  of  the  mind  is  applied  psychology, 
where  both  have  to  be  considered.  Hence  the  book  is 
divided  into  Causal  Psychology,  Purposive  Psychology,  and 
Applied  Psychology. 

The  basis  of  causal  psychology  is  shown:  a  system  of 
causal  connection  is  the  necessary  postulate  for  the  ex- 
planation of  mental  life,  but  for  psychical  phenomena  no 
direct  causal  connection  is  possible ;  hence  the  necessity  of 
considering  every  mental  state  as  an  accompaniment  of  a 
respective  brain  process.  The  brain  with  its  biological 
processes  can  indeed  be  studied  as  an  unbroken  causal 
chain.  This  psychophysical  parallelism  is  the  foundation 
of  causal  psychology.  After  this  explanation,  a  survey 
of  scientific  methods  is  given :  those  of  self -observation,  of 
the  observation  of  others,  and  of  experimental  methods. 
Then  follows  a  study  of  the  various  psychical  phenomena, 

428 


APPENDIX 

of  stimulation,  visual  and  auditory,  of  movement,  of  feel- 
ing sensations,  of  association,  reaction,  inhibition.    Con- 
spicuous in  the  study  of  the  two  latter  topics  is  Miinster- 
berg's  action  theory,  the  theory  that  the  readiness  of  the 
nerve  centers  for  kinesthetic  response,  that  is,  the  motor 
setting  of   the   brain   complex   determines   the   effect   of 
stimuli,  as  opposed  to  the  theory  that  the  impressions  them- 
selves are  the  starting-points  for  motor  reactions.    *  *  We  all 
perceive  the  world  just  as  far  as  we  are  prepared  to  react 
to  it.    Our  ability  to  respond  is  the  true  vehicle  of  our 
power  to  know.''    Further,  the  action  theory  dominates 
in  the  explanation  of  perception,  of  memory  and  imagina- 
tion, in  the  realm  of  ideas,  of  activity,  of  feeling  for 
pleasure  and  displeasure,  and  of  emotion.    **  There  is  no 
perception  of  space  in  which  muscle  activity  is  not  origi- 
nally involved."    ^^The  real  test  of  a  perception  lies  In 
the  reaction  with  which  we  respond.''    The  condition  for 
any  special  kind  of  idea— whether  a  memorized,  an  im- 
aginative, or  an  abstract  general  idea— is  **the  motor  set- 
ting  of   preparation    for   further    developments   in   my 
psychophysical    system."    Activity    and    attention— also 
thought  which  is  *' psychologically  a  prolonged  attention 
process"— are  determined  by  the  ** whole  setting  of  the 
psychophysical  system"  as  the  result  of  vivid  impressions, 
of  inhibitions,  of  active  impulses,  and  of  the  kinesthetic 
adjustment   of  the  body.    In  the   consideration  of  the 
feelings  of  pleasure  and  displeasure  Miinsterberg  explains 
that  **in  the  association  theory  we  can  reckon  only  with  a 
host  of  cells  each  of  which  has  its  special  psychical  sensa- 
tion as  accompaniment.    In  the  action  theory  every  cell 
can  itself  pass  through  many  changes  of  its  inner  excite- 
ment through  its  various  outgoing  responses."    The  emo- 
tions beyond  such  mere  feelings  of  pleasure  and  displeasure, 
moreover,   depend  on  ''a  complex  connection  of  nerve 
centers  by  which  a  normally  useful  reenforcement  of  re- 

429 


APPENDIX 


actions  is  secured.'*  Finally  the  whole  personality,  that 
is,  the  self  as  the  scientist  can  conceive  of  it,  is  defined  not 
as  the  subject  of  awareness,  but  as  the  unified  content  of 
consciousness,  influenced  by  the  world  and  reacting  on  the 
world. 

After  a  presentation  of  individual  psychology  follows 
that  of  social  psychology,  with  an  account  of  racial  charac- 
teristics ;  of  the  symptoms  of  mental  life  in  the  social  body, 
such  as  suggestion  and  self-assertion,  imitation  and  sym- 
pathy; finally,  of  the  complex  social  processes  such  as 
organization  and  social  achievement. 

The  second  part  of  the  book,  **The  Principles  of  Pur- 
posive Psychology,''  as  has  been  pointed  out  before,  is  a 
new  contribution.  Miinsterberg  showed  how  the  same  men- 
tal material  that  has  been  explained  causally,  may  be  viewed 
from  a  different  standpoint,  the  standpoint  of  meaning 
and  purpose.  Yet  this  psychology  of  purpose  should 
by  no  means  be  treated  as  a  poetic  fancy,  but  as  a  theoret- 
ical science — ^not  of  causes  and  effects,  but  of  systematic 
understanding.  Causal  psychology  Miinsterberg  calls  **a 
tremendous  transformation  of  reality."  Moreover,  al- 
though for  the  student  of  psychology  it  is  enough  that  he 
should  recognize  both  systems,  the  causal  and  the  pur- 
posive, as  parallel,  the  philosopher  cannot  refrain  from 
regarding  one  as  logically  previous  to  the  other.  **It 
is  not  the  structure  of  mental  objects  which  is  the  cause 
of  our  purpose,  but  it  is  our  purpose  which  transforms 
our  purposive  life  into  a  causal  structure."  This  doctrine 
of  the  dependence  of  the  causal  system  upon  an  act  of  the 
will  had  long  been  one  of  the  keynotes  of  Miinsterberg 's 
philosophy. 

At  the  center  of  purposive  psychology  is  the  theory 
of  the  soul.  The  soul  is  the  self,  conceived  as  a  system  of 
purposes  that  remains  identical  with  itself  in  developing 
its  potential  acts  as  real  experiences.    Here,  accordingly, 

430 


APPENDIX 

is  a  unit  defined  by  identity  through  change,  which,  like 
the  atomic  theory  in  physics,  forms  a  working  basis 
for  scientific  treatment.  Scientific  treatment  is,  indeed, 
desirable,  but  not  explanatory  treatment:  the  soul  needs 
no  explanation,  because  there  is  nothing  to  explain.  The 
soul,  defined  as  identical  with  itself  throughout  its  wills 
and  experiences,  demands  not  explanation,  but  understand- 
ing. This  science  of  understanding  is  as  yet  undeveloped, 
and  Miinsterberg  had  to  confine  himself  to  pointing  out 
a  few  of  its  essential  features.  Light  is  thrown  on  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  creative  act  and  of  social  relations,  and 
of  the  normative  or  ideal  acts  which  are  measured  by 
overpersonal  norms. 

The  third  part  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  principles  of 
applied  psychology.    Here  is  a  survey  of  the  different 
fields  that  had  been  treated  in  detail  in  Miinsterberg 's 
various  books  on  practical  psychology,  such  as  Psycho- 
therapy,  On   the    Witness   Stand,   Psychology   and    the 
Teacher,  and  Psychology  and  Industrial  Efficiency.    In  an 
introduction  to  this  realm  the  author  points  out,  by  way 
of  warning,  the  limitations  of  practical  psychology.    This 
science  can  give  an  insight  into  the  means  needed  for 
certain  ends,  but  cannot  select  the  ends  themselves,  as, 
for  instance,  *'no  educational  psychology  can  determine 
what  pedagogical  ends  should  be  reached  by  the  instruc- 
tion."   But  psychology  can  indeed  improve  the  methods 
of  the  teacher.    The  application  of  psychology  to  the 
study  of  history  is  first  considered — history  that  may  be 
illumined,  according  to  the  special  aim,  by  either  causal  or 
purposive  psychology.    Then  follow  expositions  of  the  vari- 
ous * '  psychotechnical  sciences. ' '    First  educational  psychol- 
ogy is  considered  and  its  application  to  the  methods  of 
imparting  information  or  of  training  the  pupil  by  knowl- 
edge of  such  mental  states  as  attention,  suggestion  and 
fatigue,  and  by  the  use  of  intelligence  tests;  then  legal 

431 


APPENDIX  x 

psychology  is  presented  with  its  invaluable  aid  in  judg- 
ing the  reliability  of  testimony.  The  psychotechnies  of 
science  and  industry  are  set  forth  with  an  account  of  the 
problems  and  experiments  to  which  the  psychologist  had 
recently  devoted  so  much  thought ;  also  medical  psychology 
with  its  important  help  in  diagnosing  diseases,  in  study- 
ing the  effects  of  drugs,  and  especially  the  functions  and 
methods  of  psychotherapy.  Finally  cultural  psychology 
is  introduced  with  its  yet  undeveloped  possibilities,  the 
application  of  psychological  knowledge  to  aBsthetic  achieve- 
ment, as  in  the  fine  arts,  music,  and  poetry,  also  to  the 
work  of  the  scientist,  the  historian,  and  the  philosopher. 
And  Miinsterberg  ends  by  pointing  out  that  one  who  can- 
not but  profit  from  a  knowledge  of  psychotechnies  and 
from  its  application  to  his  work  is — the  psychologist  him- 
self. 


A  large  crop  of  essays,  more  or  less  popular  in  tone, 
appeared  in  these  years.  Most  of  these  essays,  published 
in  various  magazines,  were  gathered  together  in  January, 
1914,  in  a  book  called  Psychology  and  Social  Sanity, 

Among  them  were  the  paper  on  Beulah  Miller  in  the 
Metropolitan  Magazine,  and  an  article  called  **  Naive 
Psychology''  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  This  essay,  quite 
original  in  its  subject,  has  a  peculiar  ^rightliness  and 
charm.  The  moral  of  the  tale  is  simply  that  the  so-called 
naive  psychology,  the  psychology  of  laymen  that  is  popu- 
larly supposed  to  be  so  much  more  sensible  and  reliable 
for  use  in  practical  life  than  the  pedantic  advice  of 
scientists  is,  on  closer  scrutiny,  after  a}l  very  meager,  or 
really  no  psychology  at  all.  •  Miinsterberg  ends  his  essay : 
**  Mankind  has  no  right  to  deceive  itself  with  half -true, 
naive  psychology  of  the  amateur,  when  our  world  is  so 
full  of  social  problems  which  will  be  solved  only  if  the 
aptitudes  and  the  workings  of  the  mind  are  clearly  recog- 

432 


APPENDIX 

nized  and  traced.    The  naive  psychology  is  sometimes 
stimulating  and  usually  delightful,  but  if  reliable  psychol- 
ogy is  wanted,  it  seems  after  all  that  only  one  way  is 
open— to  consult  the  psychologists.*'  But  on  the  way  to  this 
conclusion  the  author  gives  examples  of  ''naive  psychol- 
ogy" which  he  has  chosen  carefully  from  many  thousands 
of  wise  sayings  from  the  poetry  and  philosophy  of  India, 
from  Homer,  from  the  Bible,  from  Dante,  from  Shake- 
speare, from  the  wide  store  of  English  proverbs,  from  the 
coiners  of  epigrams.  La  Rochefoucauld  and  Lichtenberg, 
from  Lessing,  Goethe,  Rabelais,  and  more.    This  garden 
of  proverbs,  looked  at  for  the  first  time  from  the  point  of 
vie^  of  the  psychologist,  must  appeal  not  only  to  those 
curious  about  things  psychological,  but  also  to  the  student 
of  literature. 

A  very  different  essay,  much  more  popular  and  im- 
mediate in  its  appeal,  appeared  in  the  Century  Magazine 
with  the  title  **The  Mind  of  the  Juryman."  Here  the 
psychologist  has  examined  the  institution  of  the  jury,  not 
as  a  political  reformer,  but  strictly  as  an  impartial  scien- 
tist. The  greater  part  of  the  article  is  a  report  of  experi- 
ments that  Miinsterberg  made  with  his  classes  at  Harvard 
and  Radcliffe.  He  did  not  indeed  imitate  a  trial  in  court, 
but,  just  as  he  had  done  in  trying  out  tests  in  the  service 
of  industrial  eflSciency,  he  determined  what  the  essential 
mental  processes  were  during  trial  by  jury,  and  repro- 
duced the  conditions  for  these  processes  in  a  simplified 
form.    This  is  Miinsterberg 's  own  description: 

I  settled  on  the  following  simple  device:  I  used  sheets  of 
dark  cardboard.  On  each  were  pasted  white  paper  dots  of 
different  form  and  in  an  irregular  order.  Each  card  had  be- 
tween ninety-two  and  a  hundred  and  eight  such  white  dots  of 
different  sizes.  The  task  was  to  compare  the  number  of  spots 
on  one  card  with  the  number  of  spots  on  another.  Perhaps 
I  held  up  a  card  with  a  hundred  and  four  dots  above,  and  below 

433 


APPENDIX 

one  with  ninety-eight.    Then  the  subjects  of  the  experiment  had 
to  decide  whether  the  upper  card  had  more  dots  or  fewer  dots 
or  an   equal  number  compared  with  the  lower  one.    I  made 
the  first  set  of  experiments  with  eighteen  Harvard  students.  .  .  . 
The  eighteen  men  sat  around  a  long  table  and  were  first  allowed 
to  look  for  half  a  minute  at  the  two  big  cards,  each  forming  his 
judgment  independently.     Then  at  a  signal,  every  one  had  to 
write  down  whether  the  number  of  dots  on  the  upper  card  was 
larger,  equal,  or  smaller.    Immediately  after  that,  they  had  to 
indicate  by  a  show  of  hands  how  many  had  voted  for  each  of 
the  three  possibilities.    After  that,  a  discussion  began.    Indeed, 
the  two  cards  offered  plenty  of  points  for  earnest  and  vivid 
discussion.  .  .  .  The  discussion  was  sometimes  quite  excited,  three 
or  four  men   speaking  at  the  same  time.    After  exactly  five 
minutes  of  talking  the  vote  was  repeated,  again  at  first  being 
written   and  then  being  taken  by  show  of  hands.     A   second 
five  minutes'  exchange  of  opinion  followed  with  a  new  effort  to 
convince  the  dissenters.    After  this  period  the  third  and  last 
vote  was  taken.    This  experiment  was  carried  out  with  a  variety 
of  cards  with  smaller  or  larger  difference  of  numbers,  but  the 
difference  always  enough  to  allow  an  uncertainty  of  judgment. 
Here,  indeed,  we  had  repeated  all  the  essential  conditions  of  the 
jury  vote  and  discussion,  and  the  mental  state  was  characteris- 
tically similar  to  that  of  the  jurymen. 

After  the  results  of  these  tests  had  been  calculated, 
the  outcome  was  that  52  per  cent  of  the  first  votes  had 
been  correct  and  that  78  per  cent  of  the  final  votes  were 
correct.  So  it  appeared  that  the  discussion  had  led  to  an 
improvement  of  26  per  cent,  of  all  the  votes,  or  to  an  in- 
crease of  correct  votes  by  one  half  of  the  number  origi- 
nally correct.  That  it  was  the  discussion  and  not  the  show 
of  hands  that  brought  about  the  decided  change  was 
proved  by  another  experiment. 

Without  any  prejudice  or  even  an  interest  in  com- 
paring the  reactions  of  men  and  women,  but  merely  to 
amplify  his  material,  Miinsterberg  tried  the  experiment 
described  above  on  a  class  of  women  students  at  Radcliffe 
College.    To  his  astonishment,   he  found,   although  the 

434 


APPENDIX 

correctness  of  the  first  judgment  was  shown  to  be  nearly 
the  same  as  that  of  the  men,  that  this  was  the  final  result : 
"The  first  votes  were  45  per  cent,  right,  and  the  last 
votes  were  45  per  cent,  right.  In  other  words,  they  had  not 
learned  anything  from  discussion.''  This  is  the  conclusion 
which  the  author  draws  from  his  various  experiments: 
"All  results,  therefore,  point  in  the  same  direction:  it 
is  really  the  argument  which  brings  a  cooperating  group 
nearer  to  the  truth,  and  not  the  seeing  how  the  other  men 
vote.  Hence  the  psychologist  has  every  reason  to  be 
satisfied  with  the  jury  system  as  long  as  the  women  are 
kept  out  of  if 

This  article,  written  quite  dispassionately  and  with  a 
purely  objective  interest,  inspired  an  overwhelming  flood  of 
newspaper  comments.  The  conclusion  drawn  by  the 
scientist  from  his  little,  quiet  experiment  in  the  Radcliffe 
class  was  made  a  sensation  of  the  day,  spread  like  fire 
through  the  press  of  the  country  and  even  reached  Euro- 
pean newspapers,  which  announced  that  in  the  United 
States  a  violent  controversy  was  raging  over  the  fitness 
of  women  to  serve  on  the  jury.  It  seemed  as  if  every 
reporter  in  America  had  seized  upon  this  innocent  article 
or  the  rumors  about  it,  to  exercise  his  cleverness.  Head- 
lines from  a  few  of  the  almost  innumerable  newspaper 
comments  may  be  quoted  to  show  the  reception  that  a 
popular  scientific  article  may  inspire : 

WOMEN  STUBBORN;  MEN  ARE  FIRM 

A  POLKA  DOT  PROFESSOR 

WOMEN  NOT  FIT  FOR  JURY  WORK 

So  Says  Professor  Miinsterberg,  But  Boston 

Women  Lawyers  Challenge  Harvard 

Savant's  Conclusiong 

435 


APPENDIX 


ANGRY  AT  MtJNSTERBERG 
Suffragists  Say  Women  Are  Fit  For  Jury 

Duty 

MUNSTERBERG  IS  ALL  WRONG,  JURY  FOREWOMAN 

DECLARES 

PROFESSOR  HUGO  mCnSTERBERG  ON  FEMALE 

STUBBORNNESS 

The  article  on  **Sex  Education/'  which  first  appeared 
in  the  New  York  Times^  also  roused  much  controversy. 
Miinsterberg  pleaded  against  deliberate  sex  education  for 
the  young  and  for  the  general  public  in  the  form  of  en- 
lightening plays  and  moving  pictures.  As  a  psychologist, 
he  was  convinced  that  the  more  the  air  was  charged  with 
an  erotic  atmosphere,  the  greater  the  dangers  for  youth 
and  for  the  harmless  public  through  the  infectious  stimulus 
to  the  imagination,  and  he  believed  that  the  old-fashioned 
policy  of  silence  was  the  most  beneficial.  Better  for  the 
young  mind  than  the  trumpeting  out  of  the  so-called  truth 
was  an  education  in  moral  discipline  and  ideal  aims. 

Not  the  laws  of  physiology,  but  the  demands  of  logic,  ethica» 
ffisthetics,  and  religion  control  the  man  who  makes  history  and 
who  serves  civilization.  He  who  says  that  the  child's  questions 
ought  to  be  answered  truthfully  means  in  this  connection  that 
lowest  truth  of  all,  the  truth  of  physiology,  and  forgets  that 
when  he  opens  too  early  the  mind  of  the  boy  and  the  girl  to 
this  materialistic  truth,  he  at  the  same  time  closes  it,  and  closes  it 
perhaps  forever,  to  that  richer  truth  in  which  man  is  understood 
as  historic  being,  as  agent  for  the  good  and  true  and  beautiful 
and  eternal. 

• 

This  prophylactic  theory,  it  may  be  here  remarked,  is 
parallel  to  Miinsterberg's  attitude  toward  peace  propa- 
ganda, in  which  he  believed  that  the  negative  method  of 
painting  the  horrors  of  war  worked  harmfully  upon  the 
imagination  and  hence  might  bring  about  dangerous  re- 

436 


APPENDIX 

sponse,  in  contrast  to  the  positive  emphasis  on  harmonious 
cooperation  and  common  ideals. 

A  review  of  Miinsterberg 's  literary  output  in  the  years 
1912-1914  ought  not  to  be  closed  without  the  mention  of 
one  quaint  little  literary  performance  which,  to  be  sure, 
was  not  intended  for  the  American  public.  Naoichi  Nasa- 
oka,  a  Japanese  author  who  had  visited  the  United  States 
when  accompanying  Baron  Kamura,  the  peace  envoy  to 
Portsmouth  in  1909,  asked  Miinsterberg  to  write  an  in- 
troduction to  a  book  that  he  was  writing,  America  and  the 
Americans,  To  this  request  Miinsterberg  gladly  responded 
and  wrote  a  short  interpretation,  for  the  Japanese  mind, 
of  American  national  ideals,  for  which  the  author  across 
the  Pacific  thanked  him  thus: 

Dear  Professor^ 

As  I  promised  you  in  my  last  letter  thanking  for  your 
valuable  contribution  to  my  book  America  and  the  Americans, 
I  send  you  a  copy  of  it  under  separate  cover.  It  is  a  pity 
that  this  book  should  have  been  printed  in  a  language  entirely 
strange  to  you.  The  Japanese  translation  of  that  article  which 
you  kindly  furnished  me  with  appears  on  pages  ...  I  pin  up 
those  pages  and  affix  a  mark  thereon  in  red. 

I  am  very  glad  to  inform  you  that,  among  the  learned  classes 
in  Japan,  your  various  works,  particularly  the  latest  one,  are 
being  received  with  greatest  respects.  Your  visit  to  this  country 
would  be  quite  welcome  to  many  Japanese  including  myself. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Naoichi  Nasaoka 


THE  END 


INDEX 


Adams,  Maude,  231 

Addams,  Jane,  158 

Esthetic  values.  See  Eternal 
Values 

JEsthetical  part  in  Principles 
of  Art  Education,  359, 
360 

JEsthetics    of    the    photoplay. 
See  Photoplay 

Agassiz,  Alexander,  125 

Agassiz,  Louis,  37,  47 

Agassiz,  Mrs.  Louis,  47 

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific  Exposi- 
tion, 165 

Alden,  Henry  Mills,  278 

Allies,  The  Allies  of  the  Future, 
288-292 

Althoff,  Dr.,  105, 118, 156, 185, 
191 

America   Institute,   plans   for, 
156,  185 
establishment  and  growth  of, 
187-197,  233 

American  Association  of  Labor 
Legislation,  215,  219 

American  committee  for  celebra- 
tion of  100  years^  peace 
with  England,  253 

American  Patriotism,  276,  420- 
424 

American  Problems,  382,  413- 
418 

American  Psychological  Asso- 
ciation.   See  Psychology 

American  Traits,  327-331 

Americans,  The,  {Die  Ameri- 
A:aner),  88,  259,  333-358, 

424 
Ames,  Winthrop,  287 
Anesaki,  Professor,  240,  254 


Applied  psychology,  last  talks 
on,  300 
lectures  on,  at  Berlin,  197 
lectures  on,  at  Union  College, 

Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  209 
manufacturers*     interest     in, 

209-212,  215,  251,  252 
new  division,  at  Harvard,  160 
practical    tests    in    industry, 

209-220 
suggestion  for  government  re- 
search bureau,  250,  251 
See  also  Law 
Business  Psychology 
Psychology  and  Industrial 

Efficiency 
Psychology  and  the  Navy 
Psychology  and  the  Teacher 
Psychotechnik 
Psychotherapy 
Arbitration,  Better  than,  419- 

420 
Armstrong,  member  of  British 

Association,  164 
Art,  Principles  of  Art  Educa- 
tion, 358-362 
See  also  Eternal  Values 
Photoplay 
Aufgaben    und    Methoden    der 
Psychologie   {Aims   and 
Methods  of  Psychology)  j 
305 
A.ugenmass  {Eye  Estimate),  303 
Aus  Deutsch'Amerika,  381,  382 

Backlund,  Dr.  Oskar,  107,  114 
Bacon,  Josephine  Daskam,  67 
Baker,    Professor    George    P., 
197 


439 


t 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Baker,  President  James  H.,  of 
University  of  Colorado, 
162 

Baldensperger,  Professor,  254 

Baldwin,  Professor  Mark,  49, 
54 

Balfour,  Hon.  A.  J.,  80 

Barrows,  S.   J.,  381 

Bartlett,  Professor  George  A., 
83 

Banich,  Dr.  Emanuel,  88 

Beauty,  The  Problem  of 
Beauty,  address  before 
American  Philosophical 
Association,  160-162,  412 

Bedier,  Joseph,  169 

Beitrdge  zur  Experiment ellen 
Psychologie  {Contribu- 
tions to  Experimental 
Psychology) f  304 

Bergson,  Professor,  241,  259 

Berlin,  University  of,  centen- 
ary celebration,  204,  205 

Better  than  Arbitration,  419, 
420 

Bezold,  Gustav  von,  83 

Bigwater,  member  of  British 
Association,    164 

Boise,  Idaho,  Orchard  trial, 
141-149 

Bonaparte,  Prince,  87 

Boody,  Bertha,  Dean  of  Rad- 
cliffe  College,  QQ 

Boutroux,  Professor  Emil,  157, 
241 

Bowditch,  Professor,  42 

Breul,  Professor  of  Cambridge, 
England,  190 

Bright,  Dr.  J.  W.,  140 

British  Association  for  ad- 
vancement of  sciencfe, 
163-165 

Brunialti,  Professor  Attilio, 
114,  116 

Brunner,  Professor,  22 


440 


Bryan,  William  Jennings,  336 
Bryce,   James,    107,   114,   116, 

154,  155,  169,  253 
Burgess,  Professor  John  Wil- 
liam, 151 
Burnett,  Dr.,  64 
Burtt,  Dr.,  280,  281 
Busch  Adolphus,  170 
Busche-Haddenhausen,  von,  120 
Business  Psychology,  279 
Butler,  President  Nicholas  Mur- 
ray, 96,  98,  114,  205 
memorial  address  for  F.  W. 
HoUs,  120 

Cabot,  Dr.  Arthur,  381 
Cabot,  Dr.  Richard,  74 
Calkins,  Mary  Whiton,  63,  66, 

76,  134,  421 
Canada,  Miinsterberg's  journey 

through,  163-165 
Carnegie,     Andrew,     donation 

for  Koch  Institute,  139 

gift    to    Emerson    Hall, 

90 
letter  to  Carnegie,  189 
Peace   Conference,  138, 

139 
Carrington,    Herreward,    176, 

180 
Cattell,    Professor   James   Mc- 

Keen,   75,  93,   94,   127, 

128,  140 
Chairman  of  Philosophical  D3- 

partment,  69 
Chaplin,  W.   S.,  95 
Clover  Club,  Philadelphia,  124 
Coeducation,    Bi-education    vs. 

Coeducation,  421,  422 
Concord,  Mass.,  Miinsterberg's 

speech  at  Social  Circle, 

91 
Congress  of  Arts  and  Science 

at  St.  Louis,  96-117 
Copeland,  Charles  T.,  91 


Cornell  University,  162 
Cosmopolitan     Club,     Detroit, 

Miinsterberg's  speech  at, 

120-123 
Cosmopolitan    students'    clubs. 

See   International 
Czemy,  Professor,  24 

Dadmun,  Leon,  287 

Dana,   Dr.   Charles,  177,   381 
letter  to,  177 

Dana,  Richard  H.,  74 

Danzig,   Miinsterberg's   native 
city,   1-9,    14,   15,    155, 
205,  228,  261 
Institute  of  Technology,  200 
meeting  of  naturalists,  205 

Darboux,  Gaston,  Perpetual 
Secretary  of  French 
Academy  of  Science, 
107,  114,  116 

Davidson,  Thomas,  49 

Dawson,  William  Harbutt,  158, 
255 

Delabarre,   Professor,   30,   32 

Dessoir,  Professor  Max,  27, 187 

Detroit,  speech  at  Cosmopoli- 
tan   Club,   120-123 

Beutsch-Amerika,  Aus,  381, 
382 

Dobschiitz,  Professor  von,  254 

Dorr,  George  R.,  74 
letter  to  G.   R.   Dorr  about 
Mme.  Palladino,  181-182 

Draper,  Governor,  168 

Drechsler,  Dr.  Walter,  196 

Duveneck's  statue  of  Emerson, 

130,  132 

Ebbinghaus,  Professor,  27 

Economic  life  in  The  Amer- 
icans, 340-345 

Economic  Psychology  Associa- 
tion, founding  of,  281 

Edison,  banquet  of  Illuminating 
Engineering  Society,  280 

Education,  Educational  unrest, 
421 

441 


Principles  of  Art  Education, 

358-362 
Psychology    and    Education, 
address  at  Winnipeg,  164 
Psychology    and   Life,    311- 

313 
Psychology  and  the  Teacher, 
382,  '405-409,  411,  412, 
418,  431 
The  Household  Sciences,  422 
See  also  Coeducation 
Edwards,  letter  to  Mr.  Edwards 
on  moving  pictures,  286 
Eliot,  President  Charles  W.,  42, 
46,  48,  56-60,  65,  74,  85, 
119,  128,  132,  135,  166, 
167,  349,  358,  410,  411 
Emanuel  movement  in  Boston, 
in  Psychotherapy,  395- 
397 
Emerson  centenary,  90 
Emerson,  Dr.  Edward,  92,  130, 
132-134 
account  of  Emerson  Hall  in 
lecture  at  Yale,  136,  137 
comer  stone,  90-92 
equipment  for,  130-134 
first  plans,  69-75 
remodelling,  238 
visiting  psychologists,  137 
Epistemology.     See  GrundzUge 
der  Psychologie 
Eternal  Values 
Erb,  Professor,  24 
Erdmann,   Professor,   228 
Escherich,  Dr.  Theodor,  114 
Eternal  Life,  The,  362,  363 
Eternal  Values,  The,  307,  362, 
363,  383,  399-405,  406, 
409,  410,  418,  425 
original     German     version, 
PMlosophie   der  Werte, 
138,  362,  363,  399 
survey    of    Eternal    Values, 
logical,  aesthetic,  ethical, 
metaphysical  values,  399- 
405 


INDEX 


Ethical    values.    See    Eternal 

Valties 
Eucken,  Professor  Rudolf,  240 
Evans,  Dr.  Albert,  301 
Exchange    professorship,    first 

plans,  118,  119 
Miinsterberg      as      exchange 

professor  at  Berlin,  187- 

207 
Experiments     with      Orchard. 
See  Orchard 

Faelten  Brothers,  301 
Farlowe,  Professor,  62 
Ferrol's   reform  in   arithmetic, 

280 
Fischer,  Professor  Kuno,  24 
Forum,    address    before,    295, 

296 
Francis,  Hon.  D.  R.,  President 

of  St.  Louis  Exposition, 

95,  96, 101,  113,  116 
Francke,  Professor  Kuno,   62, 

82,  83,  118,  158 
Freiburg,  University  of,  26,  52 
Freshman,  The  Studies,  298 
Furstner,  Professor,  24 

Gardiner,  Professor  H.  Norman, 

75 
Geneva,     Munsterberg's     study 

at,  20 
George,  Lloyd,  291 
Gerland,  Professor,  27 
German     Society     of     Boston, 

founding  of,  158 
Germanic  Museum  at  Harvard, 

82,  83,  120 
Gierke,    Professor    Otto    von, 

170 
Gill,   W.   of   Oxford,   64 
Goldstein,    member    of    British 

Association,  164 
Gooding,   Frank,   Governor   of 

Idaho,  145,  146 
Goodwin,  Professor,  42,  231 


442 


Grand  Trunk  Railway  mystery, 
174-176 

Gnrndziige  der  Psychologie 
(Principles  of  Psychol- 
ogy), 308,  316-326,  332, 
358 

Hadley,  President  of  Yale,  111 

Hahn,  sculptor,  253 

Haise,   Professor,   24 

Hall,  President  Stanley,  49,  50, 
111 

Hall,  Reverend  Thomas,  106 

Halle,  Professor  von,  192 

Hamack,  Professor  Adolf,  107, 
156,  206 

Harper,  President,  96,  98,  112, 
114 

Harris,  Hon.  William  T.,  U. 
S.  Commissioner  of  Ed- 
ucation, 111 

Hart,  Professor  Albert  Bush- 
nell,  276 

Harvard  Psychological  Studies, 
See  Psychology 

Harvey,  Colonel  George,  278 

Hay,  Secretary,  106,  337 

Haywood,  of  Western  Federa- 
tion of  Miners,  142,  144, 
149 

leidelberg,  Munsterberg^s  study 
at,  24-26 

Helmholtz,  Professor,  visit  to 
Cambridge,  47 

Henkel,  Professor,  22 

Henry,  Prince,  visit  to  Har- 
vard, 83-86 

Hensel,  Paul,  27,  231 

Higginson,  Henry  L.,  85,  158 

Higginson^  Mrs.  Henry  L.,  158 

Hildebrand,  Professor,  27 

Hill,  Hon.  David  Jayne,  106 
letters  from,   153,  154 
ambassador   to    Berlin,    152, 
156,  189,  205,  206 

His,  Professor,  22 


INDEX 


Hodgson,  Richard,  366,  367 
Hoefding,  Professor,  107 
Hoemle,  Professor  A.,  241 
Holland,    member    of    British 

Association,  164 
Holleben,  Theodor  von,  82,  83, 

118,  206 
HoUs,   Frederick  William,  80, 

81,  96-99,  382 
death  of,  106 

memorial  services,  119,  120 
Holt,  Edwin  B.,  48,  53,  75,  334 
Howard,  Dr.  L.  0.,  112 
Howells,    William    Dean,    75th 

birthday,  229,  278 
Hozumi,  Professor  Nobushige, 

114,  116 
Hughes,  Hon.  Charles  E.,  140, 

293 
Hypnotism  and  Freedom,  367, 

368,  377 
Hyslop,  Professor,  366 

Illinois  State  University,  94 

Inauguration  of  President 
Lowell,  167-170 

Intellectual  life,  in  The  Amer- 
icans, 345-355 

International  Congress  of  Arts 
and  Science  at  St.  Louis, 
96-117 

International  Congress  of  His- 
torians, 156 

International  Polity  Club, 
Miinsterberg's       speech, 

299-300 
International    students^    clubs, 
Miinsterberg's       speech, 
200-204 

Jagemann,  Professor  von,   62, 

James,  President  of  Illinois 
University,  94 


James,  Professor  William,  29- 
38,  40,  42,  43,  45,  46, 
48,  54,  55,  59,  60,  62,  76- 
78,  89,  108,  158,  177, 
188,  409,  412,  413 

Janet,  Professor  Pierre,  75,  86, 
87,  107 

Jastrow,  Professor  Joseph,  365 

Jesse,  President  of  University 
of  Missouri,  98 

Jordan,  President  David  Starr, 
111 

Jouett,  Dr.  Fred,  297 

Journal  of  Philosophy,  Psy- 
chology, and  Scientific 
Method,  93 

Judd,  Professor  C  H.,  162 

Jury,  The  Mind  of  the  Jury- 
man, 433 

Kamura,  Baron,  437 
Kansas,   University   of,   94 
Keibel,  Professor  Franz,  28 
Klein,  Charles,  183,  184 
Kolbe,  Professor,  22 
Konigsberg,  Miinsterberg's  call 

to    University    of,    125- 

128 
Koppel,  philanthropist,  191 
Kiihne,  Professor,  24 
Kulpe,  Professor,  228 

Lafayette     College,     75th     an- 
niversary, 139-141 
Munsterberg's    address,    140, 
141 

Lagrave,  Conunissioner-General 
to  St.  Louis  exposition, 
106,  115 

Lamprecht,  Professor,  105 

Langfeld,  Professor  Herbert 
S.,  239 

Lasalle  Extension  University, 
279 


443 


INDEX 


Law  (see  Psychology  and  Law) 
Hypnotism  and   Crime,  368, 

376,  377 
Nothing  hut  the  Truth,  368 
On  the  Witness  Stand,  369- 

378 
Suggestions  in  Court,  368 
Third  Degree,  The,  368 
Traces  of  Emotion,  368,  372, 

373 
Untrue  Confessions,  368,  373- 

375 
See  also  Jury 
Learned,  Professor  Marion,  194, 

205 
Lee,  J.,  74 

Lehmann,  F.  W.,  101 

Lehre  von  der  natiirlichen,  An- 

passung.  Die    (Doctrine 

of  Natural  Adaptation ) , 

303 

Leipzig,    Miinsterberg's    study 

at  University  of,  21-23 
Leland,  Charles  Godfrey,  83 
Leukhardt,  Professor,  22 
Lewald,    Commissioner-General 
to  St.  Louis  Exposition, 
107,  115,  116 
Lipps,  Professor,  22 
Lodge,  Senator  Henry  C,  84 
Lodge,  Sir  Oliver,  278 
Logical     values.    See    Eternal 

Values 
Lombroso,  176 
Long,  ex-Govemor  168 
Loomis,       Assistant- Secretary, 

106 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition. 

See  St.  Louis 
Lowell,  President  A.  Lawrence, 
109,  111,  197,  227 
inauguration  of,  167-170 
Liiroth,  Professor,  28 
Lyon,  Professor  David,  62 


MacDougall,  Professor  Robert, 
61 


444 


Mach,  Edmund  von,  265 

Macvane,  Professor,  62 

Marks,  Professor  Lionel,  63 

Marks.    See  Peabody,  Joseph- 
ine 

Mason,  Judge,  514 

McDougall,  Professor  William, 
75 

Metaphysical  values.    See  Eter- 
nal  Values 

Meyer,  Eduard,  169,  170,  206 

Meyer- Waldeck,  W.  A.,  24 

Mill,  Dr.  Hugh,  107 

Miller,     Beuiah,      experiments 
with,  244-247,  432 

Miller,  Dickinson,  91 

Mitsukuri,  Professor  K.,  107 

Moissan,  Professor  Henri,  107 

Moore,  John  Basset,  99 

Moore,  Professor  George  Foot, 
42,  99,  230,  254 

Moore,  G.  E.,  409 

Morgan,    University    Marshall, 
168 

Moving   Pictures.    See  Photo- 
play 

Moving  Pictures  and  the  Child, 
287 

Muck,  Dr.  Karl,  254 

Miiller,  Professor,  228 

Miinsterberg,  Else,  niece  of  H. 
Miinsterberg,   158,    255 
Emil,  brother  of  H.  Miinster- 
berg, 3,  16,  21,  107,  117, 
158,  205-207,  236 
Oskar,  brother  of  H.  Miinster- 
berg,  3,   6,  16,   17,   39, 
157,  205,  236,  237,  254 
Otto,  brother  of  H.  Miinster- 
berg, 3,  5,  17,  155,  205, 
275 

Murray,  Sir  John,  107 

Nasaoki,  Naochi,  437 
Nasmith,  Dr.,  200,  201 
Natrop,  Professor,  27 
Naval  War  College,  221-326 


INDEX 


Nazimova,  Mme.  Alia,  231 
Newcomb,  Professor  Simon,  99- 

102,  106,  114,  158 
Nichols,  Dr.  Herbert,  39,  40 
Norton,      Professor      Charles 

Eliot,  42,  62,  73,  231 

O'Brien,     Robert,     editor     of 

Boston  Herald,  258 
Ohio  State  University,  162 
On  the  Witness  Stand,  143, 149, 

184,  208,  369-378,  431 
Orchard,  Harry,  trial  of,  141- 

149 

experiments  with,  145,  146 

newspaper  reports,  146-149 

Ostwald,  Professor,  129 

Owen,  Professor  William,  140 

Oxford,  Miinsterberg's  call  to, 

64,  65 

Palladino,  Eusapia,  seance 
with,  176-188 

Palmer,  Alice  Freeman,  66 
death  of,  79 

Palmer,  Professor  George  Her- 
bert, 42,  43,  46,  62,  69, 
74,  76,  78,  79,  88,  126, 
127,  131,  135,  253,  405, 
410 

Paris,     congress     of     psychol- 
ogists, 29,  86 
Exposition,  86 

Peabody,  Professor  Francis,  74, 
90,  91,  130 

Peabody,  Josephine  Preston,  63 

Peace  and  America,  The,  269- 
274 

Patten,  Professor,  381 

Penck,  Professor,  107 

Perkins,  Thomas  Nelson,  168, 
381 

Pfaff,  Dr.  Franz,  297 

Pfleiderer,  Professor,  107,  158 

Phi  Beta  Kappa,  Miinsterberg's 
speech,  300 


Philosophie  der  Werte,  138,  362, 
363,  399,  409 

Philosophy,  founding  of  Amer- 
ican   Philosophical    As- 
sociation, 124 
meeting  at  Harvard,  131, 

132,  134 
Munsterberg's    presidency, 
131,  160 
International     Congress     of 
Philosophers.    See     In- 
ternational 
Miinsterberg     Chairman     of 
Philosophical       Depart- 
ment, 69 
MUnsterberg^s  system  of  phi- 
losophy.    See      Eternal 
Values 

Photoplay,  interest  in,  281-287 

Photoplay,  The,  a  Psychological 
Study,  282-285 

Picard,  Professor  Emil,  107 

Pickering,  Professor  and  Mrs., 
62 

Pierce,  Professor  Arthur,  45, 
48,  75 

Poincare,  Professor  Henri,  107, 
205 

Political  parties  in  The  Amer- 
ica/ns,  335,  336 

Political  problems  in  The 
Americans,  338-340 

Pressy,  experiments  with  street 
lighting,  281 

Prince    Henry.    See    Henry 

Prince,'T)r.  Morton,  364 

Princeton  Graduate  School, 
Munsterberg's  speech  at 
opening,  242-244 

Pritchett,  President  Henry  S., 
98,  188 

Prohibition  and  Social  Psychol- 
ogy, 378-381 

Prohibition  and  Temperance, 
415 


445 


INDEX 


Psychical  Research.    See  Spir- 
itualists 
Psychology,      Grundziige      der 
Psychologic     {Principles 
of  Psychology),  316-326 
Harvard  Psychological  Stud- 
ies, volume  i,  332 
volume  ii,  364 
volume  iii,  424 
volume  iv,  278 
Miinsterbergr's     decision     to 

study,  22 
American   Psychological   As- 
sociation, 65,  92,  93,  124, 
131,  132,  134,  162,  227, 
244 
Business  Psychology,  279 
Economic    Psychology   Asso- 
ciation, 281 
Position    of    Psychology    in 
System    of    Knowledge, 
332 
Psychologic  und  Wirtschafts- 

leben,  233,  419 
Psychology     and     Education 
in    Psychology    and    Life, 

311r313 

address  at  Winnipeg,  164 

Psychology  and  Industrial 
Efficiency,  212,  233,  248 
419,  424-427,  431 

Psychology  and  Law,  150, 151 
See  also  On  the  Witness 
Stand 

Psychology  and  Life,  309-316 

Psychology  and  Light,  speech 
before  Illuminating  En- 
gineering Society,  280 

Psychology  and  the  Navy, 
221-226,  423 

Psychology  and  Social  San- 
ity, 424,  432-436 

Psychologv  and  the  Teacher, 
382,  405-409,  411,  412, 
418,  431 

Psychology  General  and  Ap- 


446 


plied,  256,  278,  310,  311, 

317,  424,  427-432 
Psychotechnik,       Grundziige 

der,  227,  254,  424 
Psychotherapy,     practice     of, 

170-176 
Psychotherapy,  208,  382-399, 

409,  411,  418,  431 
Puffer,  Ethel  D.,  54,  63,  421 
Purposive        psychology.     See 

Psychology  General  and 

Applied 
Putnam,  Henry  W.,  83,  85,  86 
Putnam,  Herbert,  98 

Radcliffe  College,  47,  48,  302 

Ramsay,  Sir  William,  107,  114 

Rand,  Benjamin,  72 

Ratzenhofer,     Field     Marshall 
Gustav,  107 

Redfield,    Secretary    of    Com- 
merce, 248 

Reichenheim,  member  of  British 
Association,  164 

Religion,   chapter   on,    in    The 
Americans,  353-355 
See  Eternal  values 

Metaphysical  values 
Eternal  Life 

Repplier,  Agnes,  278 

Ribot,  Professor,  364 

Richardson,  member  of  British 
Association,  164 

Richet,  Professor,  86,  87 

Richmond,  president  of  Union 
College,  209 

Rickert,     Professor     Heinrich, 
28,  52,  125,  156 

Riehl,  Professor  Alois,  28,  240, 
241,  253 

Robbins,    R.    C,    Robbins   Li- 
brary, 74,  90,  130 

Robinson,  Professor  Fred,  63 

Robinson,  Nelson,  130 

Rogers,  Howard  J.,  96,  98, 112, 
113,  115 


INDEX 


Roosevelt,  Alice,  84 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  80-82,  84, 
152,  155,  277,  278,  293, 
336,  337,  344,  357 

Root,  Secretary  of  State  and 
Mrs.,  152 

Rowland,  Eleanor,  422 

Royce,  Professor  Josiah,  39-46, 
48,  55,  62,  76,  83,  88, 
89,  111,  126,  157,  186, 
253,  264,  265 

Russell,  Bertrand,  241,  255 

Santayana,  George,  42,  46,  63, 
91 

Sargent,  E.  Winthrop,  287 

Schiff,  Jacob,  185,  191 

Schmidt,  Dr.  Friedrich,  105, 
185,  191,  196 

Schrenck-Notzing,  29 

Schurz,  Karl,  50,  83,  85,  119, 
198,  253,  382 

Science  and  Idealism,  lecture 
at  Yale,  135-137 

Science  and  Idealism,  363-364 

Semon,  Sir  Felix,  107 

Settlements,  speech  at  25th  an- 
niversary of  university 
settlements,  228-229 

Shaler,  Professor  Nathaniel, 
42,  62,  231 

Shaw  banquet  at  St.  Louis, 
115,  116 

Sievers,  Professor,  105 

Singer,  Dr.  Michael,  292 

Skiff,  Fiederick  J.  V.,  96,  98, 
113,  114 

Small,  Professor  Albion  W., 
99-102, 106, 112, 150 

Smith,  Alphonso,  198,  205,  206 

Smith,  member  of  British  As- 
sociation, 164 

Smithsonian  Institute,  188, 
189,  192,  196 

Social  Circle  of  Concord,  91 

Solano,  Salita,  287 


Soul,  The  Return  of,  278-279 

Speyer,  James,  185, 191 

Spirit  of  Self- Assertion  in  The 
Americans,  355-358 

Spirit  of  Self-Direction  in  The 
Americans,  334-340 

Spirit  of  Self -Initiative  in  The 
Americans,  340-345 

Spirit    of    Self-Perfection    in 
The  Americans,  345-355 

Spiritualists.    See  Palladino 
Communication      with      the 

Dead,  366,  367 
My  Friends,  the  Spiritualists, 
416 

St.  Louis,  Washington  Univer- 
sity,   degree    from,    94, 
95 
World's    Fair,    Congress    of 
Arts  and  Science,  96-117 

Stein,  Professor,  27 

Stem,  Professor,  228 

Steuben,  unveiling  of  statue  at 
Utica,  N.  Y.,  256-257 

Steunenberg,  ex-Governor,  mur- 
der of,  141 

Strathcona,  Lord,  163,  164 

Stuart,  Hon.  Edwin  S.,  140 

Studies,  The  Freshman,  298 

Stumpf,  Professor,  228 

Subconscious,     symposium    on 
the,  364-366 
In  Psychotherapy,  389,  390 

Sunday,  Billy,  415 

Taft,    William    Howard,    Sec- 
retary of  War,  152,  155 
President,  170, 184, 186, 188, 
237 
Taussig,  Professor  F.  W.,  62 
Telephone,  tests  with  New  Eng- 
land telephone,  212-214 
Terberg,  Hugo,  pseudonym,  53 
Third,    The    Degree,    play    by 
Chailes  Klein,  183,  184 
Thompson,  Hon.  Elihu,  99 


447 


INDEX 


Thompson,  President  of  British 

Association,  163,  164 
Thomdike,    Professor   Edward 

L.,  127 
Titchener  Professor  E.  B.,  55, 

151, 162 
Toennies,  Professor,  127 
''To-morrow y''  292-295 
chapter  in    The   Peace   and 

Arnerica,  273,  274 
Toy,  Professor,  62 
Troeltsch,   Professor,  107 
Twenty- five  Years  in  America, 

297,  298 

Union  College,  Schenectady,  N. 
Y.,  209 

Universities,  chapter  on,  in  The 
Americans,  348,  349 

University  Settlements,  25th  an- 
niversary, 228,  229 

Urban,  Professor  W.  M.,  409 

Ursprung  der  Sittlichkeit  {Ori- 
gin of  Morality),  306 

Vaichinger,  Professor,  27 
VanH  Hoflf,  Professor,  82,  107 
Vocation,  Choice  of  a,  413,  414 
Vocation    and    Learning,    244, 
418,  424-426 

Walcote,  H.  P.,  127 

Waldeyer,  Professor  Adolf, 
105,  107,  114,  118,  156 

Waller,  member  of  British  As- 
sociation,   164 

War  and  America,  The,  257- 
262 

Ward,  D.,  74 

Ward,  Julius,  278 

Warfield,  President  of  Lafay- 
ette College,  139 

Warren,  Winslow,  177,  381 


Washington  University,  LL.  D. 

from,  94,  95 
Watjen,  Reverend  H.  W.,  246 
Watson,  member  of  British  As- 
sociation, 164 
Weissman,  Professor,  22 
Welch,  Dr.  William  H.,  99 
Wells,  H.  G.,  258,  259,  260 
Wendell,     Professor     Barrett, 

106 
Wesselhoeft,  Dr.  Walter,  44 
Wheeler,  President  of  Univer- 
sity of  California,  138 
White,     Alfred     T.,     gift     to 

Emerson  Hall,  90 
White,    Andrew    D.,    83,    104, 
110,  111,  120,  152,  411, 
412 
White,    William,    member    of 
British    Association,    164 
Wiedemann,  Professor,  22 
Wilkins,  Zora  P.,  192,  230,  257, 

288,  382 
Willenshandlung    {Will  Activ- 
ity), 304,  305 
Williams,    Dr.    Henry    Smith, 

177,  380 
Wilson,    Woodrow,    President 
of  Princeton,  109,  111 
President  of  U.  S.,  248,  268, 
269,  277,  291,  293 
Wilson,   W.   B.,    Secretary  of 

Labor,  248 
Windelband,  Professor,  27,  157 
Winnipeg,  Congress  of  British 

Association,  163 
Woodward,  C.  M.,  95 
Woodward,  Robert  S.,  Ill 
Worcester,  Dr.,  Emanuel  Move- 
ment in  Psychotherapy, 
395-397 
World's  Fair.     See  St.  Louis 
Wundt,  Professor,  22,  27,  54, 
105,  156 
448 


INDEX 


Yale,  lectures  by  Harvard  pro- 
fessors, 135 
MUnsterberg's      lecture      at 
Yale,  135-137 


Yerkes,  Professor  Robert  M., 
76,  131,  238,  239 

Zurich,  University  of,  57,  58 


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